Latest news with #MissNewZealand2025
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Miss Tourism International title winner ‘stoked'
Emily Faulkner has no interest in spouting cliches about world peace. 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."
Otago Daily Times
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Miss NZ finalist ‘never thought' it would happen
Mosgiel-born, now Auckland-based, student nurse Emily Faulkner has been named one of the finalists in the Miss New Zealand 2025 pageant. Photo: supplied A former Taieri College student never thought a Mosgiel local would make it on to the stage of New Zealand's premier pageant. Now Auckland-based student nurse and part-time rest-home healthcare assistant Emily Faulkner has been named as one of the Miss New Zealand 2025 finalists. She will compete for the crown in Auckland on July 11. Miss Faulkner said she was feeling a mix of emotions. "Coming from Mosgiel, I never thought this would actually happen to me." There were 10 finalists in the competition and the women were on "quite a fun little adventure" together, she said. "It's so exciting, but at the same time, it's quite a time-consuming competition." Miss Faulkner grew up in Mosgiel and went to Taieri College before making the move north. She said she had a lot on her plate to juggle. She was at the point of her nursing studies at the University of Auckland where she was doing eight-hour placement shifts four to five days a week in hospitals, all the while going home to complete assignments. On top of that, she was also working part-time in a rest-home as a healthcare provider. "I've had a lot of people ask 'how do you manage it?'. And I'm like, 'ah, I don't, I just kind of do it'." In the lead-up to the competition, she and the other contestants would be supporting two charities, the Girls Brigade No 1 Squadron in Auckland and Canine Friends Pet Therapy, Miss Faulkner said. She would be running a charity event for Canine Friends Pet Therapy in the coming weeks. She had a soft spot for the organisation as it often brought dogs into the rest-home where she worked. When they brought the dogs in, you could see the happiness on the faces of the residents, she said. "Something so small goes so far for them because I've watched the everyday pattern in rest-homes, and people can get bored." She said many in rest-homes could forget they still had a life they were living, and the smiles on the residents' faces when the dogs came in were "honestly priceless". As part of the pageant, she was raising awareness and supporting three more causes. They were mental health, diversity and awareness around the "pink tax". "When mental health is talked about, I don't see it carried through enough — even though there's so many of us around, people are still feeling alone, and I don't think that's noticed enough." She said mental health was related to everything, including diversity. "Whether it's cultural, physical, personal, we're all different, but that doesn't mean it's a bad thing to be different." She also wanted to see the end of the pink tax — she said the purple women's disposable razor with fewer blades than the men's equivalent had no business being more expensive. "A lot of people do think pageants are just about the glitz and the glam, but it's so much more than that." Miss Faulkner said Mosgiel and Dunedin gave her the strength and foundations to go for her goals. "Growing up in this beautiful city surrounded by nature, strong values and a caring community has shaped me into the person I am today. "Now I want to make our community proud by using this platform I've been given for good."
