| 
| 
| |
06/07/2017
829 | 
0
Vicky Gayle @Vicky_Gazette - Reporter
Stunner - Sylvia Ajileye, 28, is competing in her first pageant and wants to win
Get the latest local news straight to your inbox every day
A SAVVY businesswoman whose ambition is to be the Michelle Obama of the UK is vying to bring the Miss Universe Great Britain crown to Essex.
Sylvia Ajileye, 28, champions female empowerment and if crowned the pageant winner said she will embark upon a life-changing journey helping women across the world.
The striking part-time model and marketer also hopes to follow in the footsteps of Rachel Christie - the first black Miss England - to become a voice for underrepresented women of colour.
But her dream opportunity is in jeopardy without a £500 business sponsor.
She said: “The only thing which transcends race is education and I’d like to extrapolate the results I’ve seen motivating my friends and family into better opportunities and take it across the world.
“The opportunities are there for all of us.”
Originally from Finchley in North London, Sylvia’s family, of Nigerian descent, moved to Colchester when she was in Year 9.
She left St Helena School and began working, unsure of her ambitions, but realised her strengths through administration and waitressing jobs.
A business management degree at Essex University followed, aged 21, before she ventured back to the City for three years.
However, she had an itch to become self-employed and as a result, the Primal Touch marketing company was born, based in Mile End.
Modelling had never been part of the plan.
Gazette:
Effortless - Sylvia Ajileye has the enviable natural features of a model
She said: “Lots of people kept saying I should model so I ended up signing with the Sandra Reynolds Agency in Norwich and working part-time. Then came the suggestions about doing a pageant.
"I’ve never done a beauty pageant in my life and on the face of it, it’s everything I’m against, but I like the sentiment of what it represents.
“Our work changes girls’ lives. I’m here for the girls who struggled and don’t have these opportunities, or those who left home at 15 like I did and don’t know what to do with their lives."
The proceeds of the competition support three charities - Not In VAIN, Strongbones and Sheroes.
If Sylvia wins, she will travel to India to work with women affected by acid attacks and spend months at a time carrying out humanitarian work in East Asia.
"I want to be the black version of Amy Willerton who won the competition in 2013, but take it even further," she added.
"Michelle Obama is my ultimate role model. The way she empowers and helps young girls is the level I'm aiming for."
The finals of Miss Universe Great Britain takes place in South Wales on July 15.
Sylvia's deadline for a new sponsor is July 10.
She said: "I'd like to have a company that stands for equality. It doesn't matter about the name of the brand just as long as their sentiment is in line with mine."
To contact Sylvia for sponsorship email sylviaajileye@icloud.com.
To read her bio and vote before the deadline, click here.
COMENTÁRIOS - Clique aqui para fazer o seu
