Miss Teen Canada 2020
Keyena K
Hello,
Hi, I’m Keyena. In high school, academics were second-nature to me. In fact, I took majority of my grade 12 classes a year early. Wrapping up grade 12, I had to choose between science and nursing programs at McGill University, the University of Toronto, Queen’s University, Simon Fraser University, and the University of British Columbia. Following my heart, I chose to stay in my hometown and study Food, Nutrition, and Health at the University of British Columbia. Alongside school, I have been a dancer since the age of three. From dance I have learned all sorts of life lessons ranging from proper etiquette, being injured, professionalism, how to perform well under pressure, and how to express myself authentically. Beginning university, I still had a passion for dance, but wanted to branch out and give myself a new opportunity; therefore, I am now a UBC Cheerleader. I have always been curious about cheerleading, but I always had felt to old to begin. However, the experiences that have shaped me, now motivate me to go after anything I want. Besides education and my extracurriculars, I also got my first job last year as lifeguard and aquatic instructor for the City of Burnaby. This job required me to take six intense courses to ensure I am able to responsibly watch over the pool and respond in emergency situations. Believe me when I say there were many times I wanted to throw in the towel and get a different job, but I don’t get lost in the fire. I am built from it.
Although I already seem extra busy, I have also taken up a hobby of bullet journaling. A bullet journal is basically a build-it-yourself planner. It’s blank and it’s yours to help you plan, design and enjoy your life. At first, I didn’t realize it until I had it said it out loud. Keeping a bullet journal had completely changed my life. It enabled me to set incredible goals for myself and achieve them. But more importantly, it just made me happy. My outlook on life has completely changed. I learnt that life is what you make it. When we believe in ourselves we are capable of anything and everything. As a result, I have realized that I want help others help themselves.
I believe in order to live a healthy lifestyle we must begin by having a healthy relationship with our self. When we consider our health, we tend to think of exercise, diet, and mental health. These entities are essential to living a healthy lifestyle, but they are half-hearted without factoring in our personal happiness.
My platform is centred around self-love for a healthy lifestyle. Believe it or not, happiness is a choice and we should never feel guilty for choosing it. Choosing our own happiness is choosing to love ourselves authentically and unapologetically. Self-love is a journey of ups and downs, and never quite reaches a destination. Self-love requires us to work on ourselves, so we can then spread our sunshine upon the rest of the world.
A dream of mine is to own a business that promotes self-love practice through many avenues of everyday life, such as exercise, diet, mental health, and most importantly personal happiness. With being Miss Teen Canada 2020, I hope to educate young people in self-love practice promote positive mind spaces, and help others find the sunshine within themselves. For as long as I can remember, three words have always stuck with me. “Know your worth”. Self-love is knowing your worth and never forgetting it.
Keyena
Coronation and interview
Talks about the event
If you’d Elected: what you would realize
Why vote for me!
As a prize winner, I want to educate children and teenagers about healthy eating choices and habits. My objective is to create a positive mind space when discussing food. Eventually, I would love to work with elementary and secondary school cafeteria programs to source local, ethical, and sustainable food into education systems across Canada.
My family has always said, when I set my mind to something, they know nothing can stop me. If you vote for me, you can trust that I will put my heart and soul into whatever it is that I want to accomplish for our country.
Senior Citizens Dinner
Last year, I volunteered at a senior citizens care home. I helped prepare for their Annual Family Dinner. I decorated and set the room for the entire event and welcomed each senior and their visiting families with a smile. I helped serve dinner and dessert, keeping in mind dietary restrictions. But my favorite part was singing and dancing to Christmas carols with the seniors and their families after the dinner. Spending time with senior citizens, showed me the wisdom and experience that elderly people contribute to our society.