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NEWLY chosen The Herald
Spec-Savers Miss Port Elizabeth 2010 Bianca-Ann Harper of Korsten is already a
young woman of substance.
During the top five interviews
on Friday night, she was asked what it meant to be a woman of substance and she
did not hesitate in answering because for years her late grandmother instilled
exactly this message in her.
"It's a phrase I heard my
grandmother say over and over and it is even on a sticker on our fridge, so getting
the question made me feel as though she was there in some small way," said Bianca.
The 24-year-old pharmacy
intern at Klinimed pharmacy in Newton Park is studying towards her master's degree
at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and is a youth leader at her church
but, despite her busy schedule, she wanted to take on the challenge and enter
the competition this year.
Bianca and her best friend,
Marvin Holmes, have attended the competition every year since they met at Linkside
High School - and as she was just one year away from the cut-off age of 25, Marvin
finally convinced her to enter.
"I wanted to finish my studies
first, but I knew I wanted to be part of the competition at least once, so I finally
entered," she said.
Bianca said she was excited
about all her fabulous prizes, which she will share with her boyfriend Anver Agherden.
Her parents, Denzyl, a mechanic at Coca-Cola, and Patricia, a primary school teacher,
are happy about R10000 unit trusts from FNB, which they say can help Bianca later
in life.
However, Bianca is much
more excited about the use of a brand new Volkswagen 1.4 Polo Comfortline from
Market Square VW. "I really need a car and have you seen this one, it's stunning!"
she said.
The other big prize is
a Uniglobe Bay Travel-sponsored cruise on the MSC Sinfonia to Mozambique.
The bubbly yet level-headed
Bianca said winning had come as a shock and she woke up the next morning with
a realisation that scared her. "Suddenly, I just thought, 'Oh wow, I'm Miss Port
Elizabeth, what now?' I was just so honoured to be part of the whole competition
and I really just wanted to make it to the top five, so winning was extremely
surreal and overwhelming."
She will make supporting
her charity, the Missionvale Care Centre, one priority.
Her proud parents were initially
worried about how the competition would influence her already full schedule, but
they are proud of how she has handled it so far and sure that she will be able
to make a success of her title year.
Bianca said her studies
had forced her to work on time management and, with a mother who had always excelled
with working out schedules, she was sure she could fit everything in.
"I did not want her to enter
at first, because she had so much on her plate, but the relaxed way she has handled
everything up to this point makes me feel confident in her abilities," said her
father.
Her mother was a little
less confident and said she had hardly been able to eat before the gala event.
"I was just so nervous for
her, the whole family was, but Bianca was calm and collected," said Patty.
The audience was filled
with Bianca's fans, from sign-wielding friends, family and colleagues to other
audience members won over by her ladylike confidence. Bianca was a firm favourite
from the start.
"My boss at Klinimed actually
paid for tickets for my colleagues to go, and at work on Saturday morning I was
met with so much love, it was truly heartwarming," she said.
This was not the only place
she received a royal welcome. She arrived at her home in Korsten, which she shares
with her parents and older brother Charles, after the competition and had neighbours
out in their pajamas to see her.
"They made me strut down
the street in my evening gown and sash while playing music from one of the cars.
It was overwhelming."
Bianca will be an ambassador
for Nelson Mandela Bay during the Fifa World Cup and she said she could not be
more excited.
"I am a huge sports fan
and can't wait to be a part of it all," said Bianca, who admitted that wearing
a Fifa soccer outfit during the show had been almost as exciting as her one-of-a-kind
designer dress by Megan Holden, which she said she could not wait to wear again.
"The whole show was so much
fun - just the buzz backstage and the clothes were spectacular - winning was like
a bonus."
Of the Missionvale Care
Centre, she said: "The work they do is so amazing and visiting them was an honour.
I can't wait to get involved."
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