Shavae is Miss St James Festival Queen
ON Sunday night 24-year-old Shavae Scale could not hide her elation after emerging as the top contestant in the St James Festival Queen Competition.
The event, which had 10 finalists, was held at the Montego Bay Cultural Arts Centre.
Scale, who recently graduated from the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) with a civil engineering degree, said she was in a state of disbelief after taking the coveted crown.
“I’m somewhat in disbelief. I’m always supporting the girls and they told me, ‘You know what Shavae? You are possibly the queen! I am still in disbelief, but I am grateful for it,” she told the Jamaica Observer shortly after being crowned.
“I really love my country, I really love serving, and this is one of the greatest platforms for a young woman to be a part of, so that is why I joined. I just wanted the experience, honestly, but I’m glad that I was able to get more than just experience,” she continued.
In addition to her crown Scale also took home a number of the sectional prizes — Best Performer, Most Poised, and Most Congenial.
Second place went to Nafheeti Whittingham while Claudine Mitchell completed her court.
Whittingham also took home the sectional prizes for Most Culturally Aware and Most Active in the Community, while Most Popular on Social Media went to Aniska Christie.
Speaking about her fellow contestants, she indicated that it was an exciting journey and she was looking forward to spending more time with them after this.
“I love all of them, every single one of them; they’ve made the journey exciting. Sometimes we forget it’s actually a competition, and I love that. We built a family and I’m looking forward to spending more time with them after this,” said Scale, a resident of Rose Heights.
Part of what is to come will be a group project through which all 10 females will come together and continue to work in this regard. However, for her personal project Scale explained that she will be initiating an undertaking called ‘The Unseen Me’ where youth across the parish will be assisted in the getting the best out of their talents and creativity.
The newly crowned queen will also be focusing on the national final in August during which she will attempt to take the crown to St James, as it last came to the parish in 2017.