SHAMCEY IS READY FOR MISS UNIVERSE

When the screenings started in January this year, she was a diamond in the rough. She made heads turn with her innate beauty and gorgeous figure, but there was a whole lot of room for improvement. Even when she bested more than one hundred of the country’s loveliest and bagged the much-coveted title of Miss Universe – Philippines last April, Ms. Shamcey Supsup was still a gem waiting to be polished.

And what four months of the most rigorous and expert pageant training can do.

After a relentless barrage of personality development and public speaking courses, Spanish and Portuguese language classes, rigid gym workouts, visual poise, hair and make up sessions, photo shoots, TV guestings, passarellas, gown and bathing suit fittings, and sessions on how to have a “winning spirit”, 25-year old Miss Universe-Philippines Shamcey Supsup is ready to face the world and try her best to be the third Filipina to be crowned Miss Universe.

The Binibining Pilipinas Charities Inc. gave Shamcey a grand send off to the Miss Universe Pageant at the Topaz room at the Gateway Suites, Araneta Center. Aside from its head and guiding spirit, Madame Stella Marquez Araneta, also present during the send off were the Executive Board of the BPCI, reigning and past Binibining Pilipinas queens, sponsors and media friends.

Shamcey knows that she is facing a tough field when she competes in the pageant in Sao, Paulo, Brazil this September 12. She is unfazed by the challenge and the added pressure brought about by the amazing fourth place finish of her predecessor Ms. Venus Raj. “I thrive on balance. I am a person who knows that winning means being responsible for the task that was handed to you, but still it should be handled with fun and a zest for life. When I won the title in April, I knew that the journey to become the next Filipina Miss Universe would be very challenging, but it will be an endeavor to be enjoyed.”

Before she goes to Sao Paulo, Brazil, Shamcey will visit Colombia for ten days for some final polishing to cap her training. Like most of her predecessors, Shamcey will be very self-reliant and independent in her trip, as she travels alone to the competition.

So far, the Philippines has produced two Miss Universe winners, Ms. Gloria Diaz in 1969 and Ms. Margie Moran in 1973. Both were beauty and brains material. Similarly, Shamcey is not all face, poise and figure. She’s got the brains to match it too, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of the Philippines and was the topnotcher in the 2010 Architecture Licensure Examination.

The Miss Universe 2011 will be held at the Credicard Hall, Sao Paulo, Brazil on September 12, 2011. Ximena Navarrete of Mexico will crown her successor at the end of the glittering event. ABS-CBN will air the event live.

Shamcey looks at winning the Bb. Pilipinas title as only the first step in a journey in a greater mission of putting the Philippines in the global map. “I know that if I am crowned Miss Universe, this will open doors not only for me, but more so for my country. Becoming Ms. Universe will be the gateway to make a significant mark and contribution to making things better for my country. Moreover, I can show the young people like myself, that nothing is impossible if you have the drive and willingness to learn and do your part to make the world a better and more beautiful place”, Shamcey adds.

Words spoken like a true Miss Universe.

     AUGUST 8, 2011  "PRESSCON"