Kristiana McCarthy wins Miss Teenage Ontario 2020!! “You can come from nothing and become everything!”

BY JONELL PANTLITZ

I had the pleasure of speaking to a phenomenal 18-year old Trinidadian beauty born in our very own Scarborough, Ontario. This young woman has recently been given the honour of being crowned Miss Teenage Ontario 2020. With this title, she is given a platform that she intends to use to create a positive change, not only in her community but also across the nation. Listening to this young woman speak I could hear the passion in her voice that she has for her community and giving back to society.

Kristiana McCarthy is surprisingly new to the pageant world. She made her pageant debut in 2019 where she placed 1st Runner Up in the Divali Nagar pageant in Trinidad and Tobago. She won best sari, best hair and best talent. She has also been dancing professionally for nine years. According to the new winner, “I applied for the Miss Teenage Ontario pageant without the expectation of winning and more for the experience and to help build my portfolio.” Kristiana is now the very first Indo-Caribbean young woman to place 1st in this pageant.

Listening to her speak and looking at her, you could never imagine her story. Her parents had split up when she was just a kid. She went through the court system, Children’s Aid, and back and forth between both her parents. She was physically abused and alcohol in her family played a role in that. Kristiana told Toronto Caribbean Newspaper, “Honestly, just going through the whole back and forth thing, I realize I had a very unstable life. I used to run away from home. Some days it was so bad, it came to the point where I was on my own and doing things all for myself.” 

 With everything that Miss Kristiana has gone through she tells me, “I am just trying to empower other women who go through difficulties. I want to help women push through domestic violence and intersectional feminism. As a woman of colour, the concept of intersectional feminism is important to me.”

Kristiana continues, “My biggest challenge right now is ageism,” she explains. “I’m pretty young. I feel that a lot of people are not willing to hear me out. When I’m going to all these big companies, and they see a brown skin colour girl walk in and she’s talking about charitable organizations; they are not giving me the time of day.”

She also has a passion for helping sick kids and raising funds for children. This interest sparked from her experience in the hospital. According to Miss Teenage Ontario, “I want to raise funds to donate to the Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada.” Kristiana is looking for sponsorships and donations, from various benefactors and companies. She hopes that others find interest in her cause and social movement.Miss Teenage Ontario 2020’s advice to anyone considering being a part of this pageant is, “Be the best version of your self. Push yourself to your limits and have confidence in who you are! There is no one who can be a better you, so this is the opportunity to be the best version of you!”

 Kristiana wants people to know that a girl who came from nothing can become anything. She aspires to be a positive role model for the young female generation. You can contact Kristiana McCarthy @KrissyyMccarthyy on all social media platforms.