Out and About

Pageant world teaches community involvement

By Lori Larsen

Local Camrosian, 22-year-old Destiny Johnston is proud and excited to have been selected out of over 1,000 applicants to be a delegate of Miss Canada Globe 2022, representing Alberta and more specifically Camrose.

“I started doing pageants when I was about 13,” said Destiny. “My sister started first and I was watching her and thought that it looked like fun so I thought I would try.”

After a short hiatus from the pageant world and with the encouragement of a friend who had competed in Miss Canada Globe, in 2017 Destiny decided to try out for the competition herself.

She applied to be part of the pageant and was called with an invitation for a telephone interview. “Then it is sent to the high board of Miss Canada Globe to decide if the applicant is a good fit,”explained Destiny.

The Pageant will take place in Toronto, November 2 to 13. The first three days are dedicated to the regional assessment where contestants are tested on knowledge of makeup and hair and taught how to walk wearing high heels, then given instructions on the rest of the pageant process.

“At the end of the regional assessment, they have the show featuring evening wear, swimsuit and talent.”

For the talent portion of the pageant, Destiny will be singing. When asked how long she has been singing, she smiled and replied, “Kinda almost forever. I started singing when I was young and thought ‘Hey, I can actually carry a tune’.

“My go-to song is always House of the Rising Sun,” said Destiny, although she is not sure if that is what she will be performing at the pageant.

“At the end of the Regionals, you get a title no matter what, so either Miss Central Alberta or Miss Alberta, and then for the next couple of days we are competing for the title Miss Canada Globe 2022.”

Aside from the opportunity to represent her province and hometown area in a national competition, Destiny is excited to be able to visit a part of Canada she has never seen and meet so many other like-minded young women from across the country.

While she admits that pageants have been tagged with the perception that they are all about beauty, her experiences competing has been far more and has taught her a great deal about herself.

“It’s interesting to see how your confidence changes throughout the process,” she remarked adding that the more she competes the more confident she becomes, with so much in her life enabling her to put herself out there and become more involved.

“Miss Canada Globe is very volunteer oriented, it teaches us to get out in the community and help where we can. In the earlier pageants I was a lot younger so there wasn’t as much emphasis on community, but they did try to foster a sense of community within all the girls that were in the pageant.”

Unlike what may be portrayed on television, Destiny said her experiences with pageants was never cut throat or a lot of drama. “That was discouraged. Everyone ends up being sisters near the end. And you always have somewhere to go visit in Canada.”

With such a strong emphasis placed on volunteerism by the Miss Canada Globe organization, contestants are finding meaningful ways to give back to their communities, which for Destiny has already been something she has felt drawn to do.

In the past, she has been involved with the Killam Youth Program through Flagstaff Family and Community Services, mentoring youth on Friday and Saturday evenings.

“I helped in Wetaskiwin with the homeless shelter in the winter as a volunteer to cook meals and make sure the people using the shelter had a mat to sleep on.”

She also spent some time at the Mustard Seed in Edmonton, a non-profit organization that cares for individuals experiencing homelessness and poverty. “That was a really big eye opener,” said Destiny.

In an effort to get further involved, Destiny has reached out to members of City of Camrose council welcoming their suggestions on areas within the City that would benefit from her involvement.

Outside of volunteering and participating in this pageant, Destiny is a full time nurse at St. Mary’s Hospital–just shy of three years now.

“I never really dreamed of being a nurse when I was a child or anything; but discovered later that it was something I thought I would really enjoy, and I do. It is a little bit harder at times but you do what you have to do.”

Based on her dedication to serving in her capacity as a nurse, but also in her spare time volunteering to help others, Destiny is already a winner.

Destiny Johnston

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