Queen Saturday is here and what better way to start June that with the inspiring Laura the current Ms Galaxy Ireland 2017. Laura is no stranger to the pageant circuit, having been competing for over ten years! I first met Laura at my first ever pageant back in 2010 where she introduced to me to the Galaxy pageant (I then entered and became Miss Swindon Galaxy!). I remember her amazing blue sequined gown and it seems blue is her colour as she finally won her crown at the Ms Galaxy finals in an stunning blue gown and will now compete at the international Galaxy finals in July! I spoke to Laura about her pageant journey and her new movement of female empowerment!
How did you get into pageants and what is your current title?
I actually got into pageants years ago, around 10 to be exact. Im the current Ms Galaxy Ireland and to win this year has been so special because I actually entered the first ever Galaxy UK pageant 10 years ago and knew that this was the system for me. I took some time out of Galaxy to gain some experience and really find myself and knew I was ready this year.
What is your platform and how do you promote this as a titleholder?
Ive been a gender equality and female empowerment advocate for a long time now, particularly through my work due to being in a male dominated industry, technology. Over the last few years I’ve lead campaigns and initiatives in work to bridge the gap and break down stereotyping in the workplace, I also give awareness talks at schools, particularly girls schools showing them that they can be whoever they want to be.
I’m also a regular charity volunteer and I’ve always wanted to start something myself. I started the #WowWomenWednesday campaign because I wanted to show other women that they too can achieve amazing things like the women I was posting each Wednesday, this then went onto showcase 130 women that wrote to me about their stories, where they came from and what they had overcome to be here today, it was truly inspirational and made me realise that everyone really does have a story and we’re all so strong.
This was when I had the idea about the I Believe In Me movement. The movement is a movement to empower women internationally, particularly focusing on empowering survivors of sexual or domestic assault, harassment or abuse.
Many of us have experienced one of these and may feel alone in the world and unsure what to do about it. I've been shocked at how many women actually have a story to tell. The movement is sharing strong women's stories from around the world, what happened to them and how they overcame it to actually empower others or succeed themselves.
The movement also has three prongs and will actively create and push initiatives around the following 3 areas to change the culture of our society.
Educate - Eliminate – Empower
I only started the movement about a week ago and already I’ve had floods of volunteers who are willing to share their story to help others. These women are inspiring and without them a lot more other women would feel trapped and alone thinking that they have no support. I plan to also create video stories and start to focus on specific campaigns that will change the way the world views abuse, we need to push for stronger laws and make sure everybody has a voice and is listened to.
I want to thank the Galaxy System because my title has helped me increase my reach within the pageant community and has also enabled me to meet some amazingly inspirational women. The Galaxy Pageants motto is all about empowering and supporting women which is why I chose to represent this system, it’s everything that I stand for as well.
I want to make a difference and need your support to keep the movement active and expand the reach to support more women in need. If you or anyone you know has a story they want to tell please get in touch and remember we are all warriorqueens and believe in yourself and you can achieve anything.
What would you say to girls looking to follow in your footsteps?
Find who you really are because that’s what the pageant is looking for. When I first started out I found myself trying to be who I thought they would want me to be and I didn’t get very far. With some help from Pageant Coach Rachael Tate, I realised that I just needed to be me and I won my dream title. It’s also important to find a platform that you really believe in and stick to that, choose a pageant that enables you to expand your platform, don’t change your platform to fit into a pageant.
We wish the best of luck to Laura here at Sparkles and Rhinestones and can't wait to see her walk that international stage! It's been a long time coming!!
Comments
Post a Comment