Photographs by Fidal Bassier
Eighteen-year-old former St Joseph High School student Devya Singh emerged as the first ever Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship winner last Saturday at the National Cultural Centre after stiff competition from 17 other contestants and is a step closer to realizing her dreams of becoming a lawyer.
“It feels good to have made it and I’m proud of myself,” Devya said, “but I feel that this accomplishment is the reward of two months of hard work, not just for me but all the girls.”
She shared that she had said to the girls once that if she made it to the final five, she would be answering the question for herself and the contestants who did not make it to that round of the competition. Their experience together, she added, was special as there were times when one girl or another would show up for rehearsals wanting to drop out but would be encouraged by the others to continue, if only for the experience and to finish what she had started, rather than spend the rest of her life regretting that she had not done so.
While this competition holds precious memories and excitement, initially, Devya did not want to participate. In fact, the application form was filled out by her mother who thought it was something she should take up. Mother and daughter, who sat across from each other during the interview, shared that Devya was in tears not wanting to compete in another pageant. She had already participated in two other pageants, both of which she won.
Asked why she did not want to participate, the young woman said she had enough of pageants. However, after much deliberation and a look at all of the categories and preliminaries of Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship, her competitive spirit could not turn down the opportunity. In addition, the prize money of $400,000 would go towards her studies, assisting her single-parent mother in providing for her education.
The competition turned out to be more than she expected. “This pageant experience was truly unique and unlike most of the local pageants, we had sessions that were planned out for us…,” she said. “[There were] many things we learnt that was what I was really looking forward to. The bond I share with the girls is the best. I told them I’d miss them, not that we won’t talk but I won’t be seeing them every day like before.”
Asked who her strongest competitor was, Devya admitted that each girl had her strengths in the various categories.
Her mother shared that she always saw pageantry as an opportunity for a girl to build herself. Having competed in and won three pageants herself, she has first-hand experience of this. Devya’s mom was Tagore Memorial Secondary Queen, Miss Berbice (from Number 43 Village to Skeldon) and Miss Corriverton.
Devya first entered pageantry in 2017 to compete at the Miss St Joseph High Senior Queen Pageant and she realized right away that the stage was made for her. That same year, she entered and won the Miss Mahdia Pageant. Mahdia was where she grew up.
From a young age, she was outspoken and too loud sometimes. Her forte was being argumentative, and family and friends began to tell her that she should become a lawyer. It did not take her long to know that she wanted a career in law. Devya went on to participate in school debates and Youth Parliament, which helped her in public speaking, but it was Pageant Trainer Alicia Bess who polished that skill of hers. Devya first met Alicia when she was competing in the Miss St Joseph’s Queen Senior Pageant. Alicia is known for throwing questions spontaneously at contestants during rehearsals. “During that time, I remembered saying, oh my God, how do we do this? But she was always reminding us to stay calm, acknowledge the question first, breathe, as the person is speaking think, which should help us to deliver our answers well. In addition to that we had public speaking sessions throughout this pageant.”
Asked what her favourite category was, the teen said it was the Ballroom Dancing since it was new to her and she liked the challenge. Not a dancer, Devya liked that the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship brought fun learning experiences.
The queen did not receive any awards but noted that to get to the top she knew she had to be consistent. She came second in the Media Presentation category and according to Pageant Director Wasim Khan she placed in the top five of all the categories, which led to her securing a spot in the final five.
Devya’s mother said that all her daughter needed to do was be consistent in the other categories and reach the final as her stronghold was public speaking.
The final question, asked by radio personality Feliz Robertson, who was the host, was, “The women’s rights movement has always maintained equal rights between men and women so considering gender equality, should a man still give up his seat or hold a door open for a woman?”
Devya’s response was “… Of course not. Men are men and women are women. We have our differences. A man can carry a boulder and a woman can carry a child. We are strong in our own ways, but yet we should give each other the opportunity. However, we should not close the door on each other. Let us be equal in our own ways. We are different but that’s what makes us who we are.” But while this response garnered the most applause, it was not what Wasim was looking for. Wasim, who was present during the interview with The Scene, said he was hoping that one of the contestants would have explained that equality and chivalry are two different things. Opening a door or giving up one’s seat is chivalry and never an obligation but a quality. He went on to say that one is not bound by law to be kind, but it is done out of courtesy and while none of the contestants picked up on that, Devya came the closest to answering the question.
For the essay competition and her media presentation, Devya focused on animals and the environment. Her late father was the owner of a ranch and raised racehorses. She was enamoured with animals from a very young age and was always surrounded by horses, dogs and cats. Taking care of animals, including ensuring that they are in good homes is dear to her. To be able to do this more, she joined as a volunteer of the Rosewood Foundation, an organization that takes in strays and looks after their well-being. Currently, she is fostering a dog that gave birth to a litter of pups two weeks ago. Rosewood Foundation assist her with obtaining information for her presentation and Devya also sought out the Guyana Livestock Development Authority and the Guyana School of Agriculture.
Recalling the final question on pageant night, Devya said, “As Feliz was talking, I was looking at her. When I first heard the question, I was like what is this? But the thing is I can think on my feet really quickly. As she was speaking, the first thing that came to my mind when I heard gender equality was remembering in 2017 one of my friends, Ruth Wilson, from school was part of the St Joseph pageant and finished as first runner-up. She did a presentation on stage dealing with women and rights. I recalled saying to her, Ruth, women and men can never really be equal because a man can carry a boulder and a woman can carry a child. So, with that in mind, the rest of the answer… just fell into place.”
Devya said it still felt surreal, adding that it was a victory she wished she could have shared with her father. Though he passed some years ago, the queen shared that in everything she does, she always has him at the back of her mind. She is sure that he would have been ecstatic to see her participate in the all of her pageants, since it was through pageantry that he met her mother.
“I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to take part in the first ever Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant, and… happy that I’m the pageant’s first queen and will forever be proud to always hold this title,” she noted. “I’ll encourage any young girl to participate in this pageant, and that even if they don’t win it’ll be one of their greatest experiences.”
Though she is not a pageant fanatic, the experience has grown on her and Devya is now planning to participate in the Miss World Guyana and the Miss Earth Guyana competitions.
She is currently a second-year student at the University of Guyana pursuing a diploma in International Relations, before moving on to study law. Devya wants to be a pilot also, a long-time dream of hers that she will work towards after securing a law degree.
This Gemini beauty spends her free time fostering pets and watching documentaries. While she is not a foodie, she admits to always having an appetite for callaloo cook-up.
Following the interview, Wasim presented the queen with a cheque for $200,000. Devya will receive the second half of her prize money when she begins a new school year. She is required to present the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship organization with receipts to show that she used the money for her education.
