Vying for another crown

A Vernon beauty pageant queen is vying for another crown on the international stage come August.

Twenty-one-year-old Samantha Sewell will be competing in the Miss Royalty International Pageant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 5.

Last year she placed first runner up at the same pageant and won the title of Miss International Volunteer 2019, a first for a Canadian competitor.

Sewell began competing in pageants in 2015 after being bullied for most of her life because of speech impediments.

“I was told by teachers, by doctors that I would never be able to do these things, I would never be able to graduate, I would never really do something with my life. I actually started pageantry during a really low time in my life,” she said.

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Sewell dedicates time as an advocate for apraxia of speech and other invisible disabilities that children, youth, and adults face on a day-to-day basis.

Since competing in pageants, Sewell said her confidence has improved.

“A big part of pageantry is the interview portion where you really have to go in, so for me every interview is a triumph to be able to come out of the interview and do that,” she said.

When asked about the negative connotations surrounding pageantry, Sewell said her experiences have been very positive.

“A lot of people think that it is really petty, but it’s actually not. It’s a sisterhood competing in pageantry. Everyone cheers for each other, we all fix each others’ crowns, we all stand for each other.”