Oshay Roberts can do it all
By Lisa Hamilton
GUYANA’S first ever Miss Guyana Princess, eight-year-old Oshay Roberts, already has under her belt several moments of success and doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.
Oshay, who is described as being quiet, observant, outgoing, creative and talented, on November 5 also copped trophies for Best gown, Best Talent and Best Presentation at the pageant.
Being the youngest in the competition did not faze the youngster as she sang Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ during the Talent Segment and represented Princess Snow White, in a creative way, as a part of the activities.
“The talent piece was my best piece because when I was on stage, [during] a part of my song, everyone started to cheer and they started to sing with me,” little Oshay told The Buzz proudly.
Strong supporter and aunt of the young Oshay is well-known Soca artist, Melissa ‘Vanilla’ Roberts, who made the little lady and her parents aware of the pageant after being contacted by long-time friend and designer, Neilson Nurse.
Vanilla was pleased to reveal that her niece has a long streak of accomplishments, some of which are: Winner of the Miss Hopetown Junior Pageant 2016; Children’s Calypso Monarch Winner 2016; Region Five Champion Girl 2016 and the Children’s Mash Individual Costume Winner 2016.
The two have a playful competition ongoing to see who will accumulate the most trophies, but with Oshay’s rapid and early rise to success, Vanilla is confident she will soon be overtaken.
However, amidst the pageantry successes, many persons are of the opinion that placing girls in pageants at young ages may contribute to psychological effects such as ill concepts of beauty and early sexualisation.
Vanilla, however, said that contrary to those beliefs, the pageant instead aided in exposing Oshay to valuable life lessons and several note-worthy individuals.
“It exposed her to newer things such as competing with older girls…it taught her dedication to rehearsals, opened her to meeting people who may one day support her endeavours and most importantly, she learned how not to behave if she lost a competition,” Vanilla said.
She is thankful for individuals like Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Eco Atlantic Investments, Miranda Thakur, who recently committed to sponsoring the youngster’s future ventures.
Additionally, being a dedicated ‘A’ student, Oshay was faced with the major dilemma of having to travel all the way from her hometown in Berbice to Georgetown in order to participate in preliminary rehearsals.
Nonetheless, Oshay said she received much support from her parents, Shenay Johnson and Alister Roberts, as well as teachers, friends and community members; but her shining example is Vanilla.
“I do have a role model and the role model is my aunt, Vanilla, because she is always doing well and she is always achieving in everything that she does,” Oshay said.
No one truly knows what’s next for the Miss Guyana Princess, but as she grows and explores her many options, Vanilla expressed her all-round support.
“For me, I’m the kind of person who believes in, ‘Be everything you want to be’, you shouldn’t limit yourself to any one particular thing…[I wish her] great things and successes, but the decision is left up to her the direction that she would want to go,” Vanilla said.
