The Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship Pageant (MGTSP) has shortlisted 16 candidates from the 41 who applied to participate in its 2020 Digital University, an online initiative designed to re-work its scholarship programme into a digital platform owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Described as a record-breaking and challenging feat, the week-long selection process involved screening applications from five regions of Guyana, representing 24 schools and institutions including the Guyana School of Agriculture, the Bertram Collins School of the Public Service, and the University of Guyana.
The 2020/2021 contestants is an impressive cohort of talent and ambition. Among them are national athletes, dancers, artists, writers, runway models, singers and musicians, community leaders, poets, educators, spiritualists, aspiring doctors, entrepreneurs, humanitarians, businesswomen, philanthropists, chefs, and engineers.
Starting Monday, candidates will participate in 16 webinars in three modules: Self- awareness and Value, Professionalism and Etiquette, and Human Rights and Social Development. Candidates will be able to interact and engage in these sessions via Google suite services such as Google Drive and Google Classroom, as well as WhatsApp, Facebook and Zoom.
Each session will be accessed through online interviews, oral reports, assignments, or essays. The candidate to obtain the highest grade will be awarded $75,000 of which 20% must be dedicated towards a charity or special programme of her choice; preferably one that supports the health response to the COVID-19 pandemic, food and essential supplies for vulnerable groups, or education support for children. The awardee may also organize her own activity.
Those candidates who are successful in the online programme will automatically secure a spot in the quarter final for the Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship 2021 Pageant where they will have the opportunity to vie for the Miss Guyana Teen Scholar Crown, a title that also comes with a $400,000 scholarship award.
In September last year, Devya Singh won the first Miss Guyana Teen Scholarship title. She bested 17 other contestants. Though her reign ends this September, she along with runners-up Naheeryah Newland and Christel Mangra will collectively carry out their duties, including coordinating activities, humanitarian work, and public engagements once the pandemic is over.
This year, the MGTSP had been expected to commence in June and end with the coronation on September 12. But recognizing the impact the novel coronavirus is having on Guyana and the world at large, the organisation was forced to cancel its live pageant.
