Miss Tourism International title winner ‘stoked'
Instead, the 2025 Miss New Zealand pageant Miss Tourism International title winner wants to use her new-found platform to make major changes a little closer to home.
The 21-year-old, formerly of Mosgiel, was one of five title winners at this year's pageant in Auckland over the weekend, and each will now represent New Zealand at varying world pageants overseas.
"Honestly, I'm stoked. When they announced the top five, I was like, 'oh my God, I get to go overseas and represent our country'.
"It's such an honour."
Britney Pringle was crowned Miss New Zealand 2025 and will represent the country at the Miss International, in Tokyo, this November.
Sophie Pardington won the Miss Supranational title, Kelsey Turner won the Miss Intercontinental title and Toma Mirchevska won the Tourism Queen of the Year title.
Miss Faulkner will compete in the Miss Tourism International pageant in China, in November.
But first, she has a major hurdle to clear.
She is in her final year of nurse training at the University of Auckland, and her nursing state exam is on November 18.
"I'm meant to be in China on November 16, for the start of the pageant.
"I'm not sure yet how I'm going to make that work."
It appeared she would have to exercise her diplomatic negotiation skills, to see if there was a way she could do both.
At this stage, she was not thinking too deeply about her chances in the competition, she said.
"I tend to go into it not thinking of winning.
"I like to go into it mainly to enjoy the experience and embrace everyone's cultures.
"It's just amazing to see the different lifestyles and everything — it's quite a learning experience.
"It does make you appreciate the world a lot more.
"So if by chance I did win, I'd be like, 'oh my God, what's actually happening?"'
She said a lot of people thought pageants were just about the glitz, glamour and beauty of women, but it was so much more than that.
"That's created such a big stereotype in pageantry about if you're beautiful, you win or that's all it is.
"But realistically, pageantry is actually so much about the mission that you strive for.
"It's focused on what we're striving for, what kind of change we want to make.
"So it takes a lot of actual intelligence to be able to do what these girls do."
Miss Faulkner said she hoped to break some of New Zealand's societal barriers, like judging, bullying — anything online, especially.
"We should be able to embrace each other's differences, not view them as negative, because I see it all the time in healthcare especially — how that impacts mental health.
"I really just hope to advocate for everyone in general, because we were made to be the way we are for a reason. And that shouldn't be a fault.
"We shouldn't have to change to be the society's level of perfect.
"You are already perfect in yourself, but we just have to let the world see that.
"I'm tired of hearing people saying they want to change it."
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