Celis: I will help poor people and save up for college

Helping the poor if she had a million dollars proved to be a winning answer for newly crowned 2005 Little Miss Marianas Kaylin S. Celis, a seven-year old William S. Reyes Elementary School student, who took home the 2005 Little Miss Marianas tiara last Saturday at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center.

Celis, who succeeds 2004 titleholder Hope Gomez, tugged at the hearts of the judges when she said she would help the poor if she had a million dollars. She also showed that she has a keen eye on her future when she said that money left over would be used for her college tuition.

She bested four other candidates by sweeping the special awards—Best in Talent, Best in Fantasy Costume, and Best in Evening Gown plums.

Celis enthralled the audience with her Tahitian dance routine and was also awarded a plaque for the exhibiting the most winning smile and congenial attitude throughout the competition.

Besides the title, Celis won $400 in cash, a $100 gift certificate from Bestseller, a crown and sash, flowers, trophy, a gift basket from Ponds, Suave and Dove, an official photo portfolio, as well as a year’s worth of fun events and activities.

Runner-up Aldreen T. Adriano captured the Little Miss Friendship and Little Miss Achievement awards. The nine-year-old said in the question-and-answer portion that when she grows up she wants to be a lawyer because she believes in the law. Adriano received $250 in cash, a $50 gift certificate from Bestseller, a crown and sash, flowers, trophy, a gift basket from Ponds, Suave and Dove, and an official photo portfolio.

Other candidates also received special awards. Angelica S. Roman took home the leadership award; Riselle Iris Leong for Learning; and Malena Hofschneider for Empowerment.

Judges had a difficult time when the five candidates faced them during the question-and-answer portion. Roman said if she would be governor she would fix the problem of power outages in the CNMI so that people, kids in particular, would not suffer.

Leong said that, if she were to advise parents, she would tell them to be good role models for their children so that their children would be more productive citizens. She even enumerated the good habits of what parents should do to be examples for them—no smoking, no drinking, and no prohibited drugs.

Judges for the night included Matt Deets, Bertha Leon Guerrero, Jean Sablan, Eric Evangelista, and Tina Palacios. The event was directed by 1999 Miss CNMI Cherlyn Cabrera and choreographed by Anna Glushko.

Sponsors for the event were Marianas Visitors Authority, Pena House Boutique, Shell Marianas, Ponds, Dove, Suave, MAC, Island Florals and Gifts, Younis Arts Studio, Joeten Motors, and Glushkos Academy of Performing Arts.

The event was organized by Stellar Marianas, the newest non-profit beauty pageant and talent organization in the CNMI. Stellar Marianas is now gearing up for its next beauty pageant, the Miss Marianas tilt, whose winners will be sent to next year’s Miss Universe and Miss International beauty pageants this year.