She may be new to the pageant scene, but Natasha Parkinson is ready to represent the Lakeland on a national stage.
In February, Parkinson claimed the Miss Northeastern Alberta World 2019 title in Calgary. This landed her a spot at the Miss World Canada competition.
The provincial event was the first pageant she had participated in.
”I really like how Miss World is a platform for women to get out there, talk about their causes, and what’s important to them,” she said. “Their motto is ‘beauty with a purpose.’ It’s not just evening gowns and swimwear. We also have to support a cause that our pageant does, which is the Children’s Wish Foundation. We also have to support our own platform.”
Parkinson, who resides in Cold Lake, decided to promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-based education due to her background in the field. With a Bachelor of Science in earth and environmental science, earth science, and physics from the University of British Columbia, it’s a field that’s near and dear to Parkinson.
”I just found that there was so many skills that I learned just through my science education that can be applied to everyday life, such as fact checking, knowing where you’re getting your information from, what’s credible, and what’s not, especially in the world of social media right now, as well as just how to assess things from different perspectives... There’s more than one side to every story,” she detailed.
In July, Parkinson will be heading to Toronto, ON to compete nationally.
”I’m really proud to represent the Lakeland on a national scale,” she said.
Along with the Miss World Canada title, Parkinson also has the chance to win Miss Intercontinental Canada and Miss Super National Canada during the same event.
”Even just the opportunity to have one of those titles would be amazing,” expressed Parkinson.
Throughout her reign as Miss Northeastern Alberta, Parkinson plans to be busy getting involved with the community.
”I’m definitely open to any organization needing help to reach out to me. I plan to organize a couple of fundraisers. One that’s near and dear to my heart is the local SPCA associations. This winter, I plan to organize a blanket drive, because I know they’re always in need of blankets for their animals,” she explained. “I plan to get involved and do a non-perishable food drive for our food banks because that’s always needed.”
Pageants have opened up her eyes to a whole new world. Parkinson stressed there’s more to the events than some believe.
”All the girls that I’ve met have been wonderful individuals, all with amazing causes that they’re getting behind from mental health to animal welfare. Some of the representations of pageant girls being a little shallow or even backstabbing, I haven’t encountered that. It’s an amazing sisterhood. We were all cheering for each other at provincials, and we were all helping each other out. It was amazing.”
