Naa Okailey Shooter: I was determined to make a mark
When Young Carranza worked with the Junior Graphic some time ago as an intern after she had completed senior high school (SHS), she never knew that a number of years later, she would be crowned Miss Ghana 2012 and leave an indelible mark in the Miss World Beauty Pageant for contestants from Africa, especially Ghana.
Working with the Junior Graphic after SHS in 2008, Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, widely known as Naa, demonstrated a lot of seriousness, and it is this same quality that has won her so much fame in and outside the country.
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As an intern at the Junior Graphic, Naa, now Miss World Africa, who was awaiting her results to enter the university, sorted letters received from students for publication, typed them and did other tasks that she was assigned.
“You see when I was younger, although I was the reserved type, I always saw myself as a winner and worked extra hard to achieve good results in everything I did. I also believed in myself and felt I could do anything I set out to do,” she said.
In medical school, Naa conducted herself just as any typical student until she entered fourth year; then her world changed dramatically. Now, she is in the limelight and all Ghanaians are so proud of her for her great achievement.
According to Naa, her sole motivation to participate in the Miss Ghana Beauty Pageant was to champion the cause of eradicating Buruli Ulcer in the country because she was touched by a documentary one of her lecturers showed in class.
“Winning the Miss Ghana Beauty Pageant was a big surprise and I was happy because I knew I had worked very hard at it.
Now anytime I think about the fact that my Buruli Ulcer project is going to get worldwide attention, I get inner joy because I know I can make things better for other people,” she added.
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“My project was one of the best 10 projects of the “Beauty with a Purpose” Category in the world pageant and as Miss World Africa, I will be working with other beauty queens in Africa to champion the cause of making lives better for people in our countries.”
Asked how she felt among so many other beautiful queens from different countries, she said she never pretended to be someone she was not and also refused to be intimidated by others because throughout the contest, she had told herself she wasn’t going to let the colour of her skin determine her future in the pageant.
By Eugenia AsareTandoh/Junior Graphic/Ghana