| Subject: Park teen in Miss Universe Canada |
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Date Posted: 07:49:18 03/28/09 Sat
Alysha Clark hopes her first beauty pageant will enable her to speak to adolescent girls about self confidence
Posted By Michael Di Massa News Staff
The Miss Universe Canada pageant is Alysha Clark's first entry into beauty competitions.
One of Sherwood Park's own will be competing in Toronto in May for the right to participate in the 2009 Miss Universe pageant.
Neither professional model nor veteran of the pageant scene, 18-year-old Alysha Clark is one of 60 women nationwide who has been selected to compete in Canada's round of the Miss Universe competition.
A graduate of Strathcona Christian Academy in 2008, Clark said her mother, Brenda, encouraged her to try outa for the competition after watching the Miss America competition earlier this year.
Just for fun, they went to the Miss Universe Canada qualifier in Calgary. Clark sung a cappella, was interviewed on subjects ranging from her hobbies to her thoughts on capital punishment and endured four hours of learning how to walk in a pageant, but she qualified for the national competition.
Alysha and Brenda said they were a little surprised when Alysha was picked over others at the audition who had shown more pageantry experience.
Currently a student at Grant MacEwan College, first-year student Clark is studying psychology, economics, philosophy, music and Spanish, waiting for her interests to narrow into a more clear career path.
A high school councillor (motivated by her relationships with past teachers), professional singer and economist are all very much options, Clark said. She also has aspirations of learning French once the Spanish language is mastered.
Now pageantry could be thrown into that mix if everything goes well at the Miss Universe Canada competition.
Winning the national competition would give her a larger venue to speak to young adults about growing up and help her give them motivation, Clark said.
She also speaks to her peers and family through music.
Since the age of 14, Clark has been writing her own music as an outlet for her emotions. "My songs are very much a portrayal of my emotions," she said. "The only way you can express those emotions is through music – for me, at least."
In 2006 she put her songs about personal growth and motivation (which she described as "jazzy-pop") on CD and gave them to friends and family as gifts.
Although Clark dismisses the music as "pretty typical," Brenda said it appeals to all ages.
Clark has also been volunteering her time to help others. Through Sew on Fire Ministries, a volunteer organization founded by an aunt, Clark and her family helped donate 14,000 bags of basic living materials for needy people.
They went to Mexico to help distribute some of the bags.
"(The) purpose of life is a life of purpose," Clark said.
Because she's new to the pageant scene, Clark said she has no real expectation for how far she'll go in the competition.
"I just expect to have a really good time," Clark said.
She's also looking forward to seeing Toronto outside of the context of visiting relatives. Her 19th birthday will also be celebrated while in the city for Miss Universe Canada.
With the pageant just over a month away, Clark said she is still looking for sponsors. Miss Universe Canada covers travel expenses, but wardrobe, makeup and other items are out-of-pocket.
She's also looking for the community's help to have an automatic berth into Miss Universe Canada's top 20 contestants. People will be able to vote for any woman competing in the pageant by visiting their biography page at www.beautiesofcanada.com and clicking on the vote icon. Those who sponsor contestants will also see their name posted on the biography page of person they sponsor, Clark noted.
http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1498933
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