Beauty queen sets her sights on another title

Laura (27) from Todwick, who teaches dance at Wickersley School, is now looking to the future and has set her sights on grabbing another big title.

She says she has enjoyed her year as Miss Intercontinental England and believes she has been able to help others.

Laura has organised fundraising events and travelled widely.

Laura told the Advertiser: “On July 13 2014 I was crowned Miss Intercontinental England 2014-15 and I still remember that huge adrenaline rush and enormous sense of pride I felt the moment my name was called and my family were on their feet in applause, all of us full of emotion and relief that the hard work had paid off.

“Of course having proven I was a worthy title holder by being a great ambassador for my local community meant I now could carry on being a great ambassador but on a larger scale.

“I continued to help fundraise and raise awareness of local charity Safe@Last, being part of their Sahara team, attending their events and making appearances in their fashion shows.

“I’ve had some fantastic life experiences this year such as trekking the Sahara and visiting Mauritius but the highlight for me has to be representing the country at the world finals of Miss Intercontinental with Robyn and Nadia, aka Miss Intercontinental Scotland and Wales. Placing in the top 16 is something I will always be incredibly proud of.”

The handover of Laura’s crown took place at the Park Hall Hotel in Lancashire at the Miss Intercontinental UK finals on July 19 where finalists took part in a beauty queen bootcamp, a pyjama party and the grand final pageant itself.

Laura said: “I feel so happy and grateful that I had the opportunity to live my dream of representing England in a world final.

“It has certainly been an enriching experience and I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”

Laura said that she is already looking to new challenges.

She said: “It won’t be the end of my pageant journey, I already have my eyes on the next national competition – Miss Scuba United Kingdom – which will be held at Cutlers Hall in Sheffield on August 28.

“This competition could lead to me representing the UK in the Miss Scuba International final in Malaysia at the end of this year.

"I placed in the top 16 at the Miss Intercontinental world finals so maybe having had the experience of competing in an international final and placing so highly will mean I have a great chance at taking the international title this time round if I am lucky enough to be selected as the UK representative.”