It’s unbelievable, yet believable — Calista Amoateng

WHEN 16-year -old Calista Amoateng went for the Miss Teen Tourism contest in the Philippines last month, she went with a mindset to win but that feeling went away along the line.

She cannot explain how that happened at the finals but as quickly as that feeling left her, it returned and she never stopped telling herself she was there to win. And win, she did.

“Yes, that was the mind set I went there with but during the finale, the feeling just went away, I don’t know where it went to but it came back when I was on stage and I eventually won.

Calista for Miss Teen Tourism International

Calista has since returned home to a lot of fanfare and media interviews.The Graphic Showbiz caught up with the beauty queen on Friday, August 26 and it was such a lovely conversation with the youngster.

Talking about how it feels to be crowned Miss Teen Tourism World, she said, “It is just unbelievable, yet believable, that is just how best I can describe the feeling.’’

“The experience was very entertaining, it was very educative too because you get to learn about different people and different cultures and different foods, clothing, music. It was very exciting too,’’ she said about her experience.

“I used to do videos of the girls sleeping on the bus and show it to them later, we had a lot of fun.’’

For her talent, Calista rapped and that does not come as surprise considering she has always been a rapper.

“When you win, you get to host the pageant in your country the following year, then you get a scholarship for your university education, as well as prize money.

Cook time with Miss Tourism Ghana

For her project work, Calista says she will be tackling poverty, “We are working around it, I just came back and I have to go back to school so we are looking at the best possible schedules to enable me do my project work”, she stated.

So how has the reception been like since she came home? “I have been received very well, one thing that surprised me was when I came from the Philippines.

"When I got to the airport, there was this whole entourage of people waiting for me and I was like, where are they from? I was truly surprised’’.

Calista ,however, added that winning the pageant hasn’t changed her as a person because she is still the same person she was when she went for the pageant.

Advising her peers, she said, “They should work hard towards what they want, even when they feel like they can’t do what they want to do, they should push hard because they never know what might happen.

Calista used the opportunity to express her gratitude to her sponsors and all those who supported her, “I wish to thank Remy Spicies, the Angel Group of Companies, Travel Light, the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture.

"My special thanks also go to Nana Ama McBrown, Becca, Mrs Anita Commey, Her Excellency Samira Bawumia, Mr and Mrs Twum-Danso among others,’’she concluded.

Calista’s mother, Stacy Amoateng also used the opportunity to express her gratitude to all celebrities who supported Calista, "With this pageant, they also look at your media presence, they want to know how appealing you are to the press.

"She got a lot of presence on social media and it was amazing because all the people who were posting her had the blue ticks, the verified accounts,’’ she said.