Oxford County is sending a hopeful to this year's Miss Universe Canada pageant. 24-year-old Tara Patterson from London is one of 65 finalists in the pageant that is set for May 17th and 19th in Toronto. Patterson works in Oxford County's Information Systems department and hopes her public speaking ability and volunteerism will help her win the coveted crown. She says she applied online, and made it through a series of interviews focused on social issues, volunteerism and education. Patterson tells Heart FM what she'll be doing to prepare for her first ever beauty pageant over the next 6-weeks. "Making sure I'm maintaining a healthy lifestyle, working with my sponsors, also I will be fundraising for the SOS Children's Village. It's really important for me to volunteer in my community leading up to the pageant and also gaining the support of my community with votes and liking of my page on the national website." Click here to read more about Tara and to "like" her page. She says family, friends and co-workers have been extremely supportive of her bid to become Miss Universe Canada. "Everyday they're asking about 'What's the new thing', 'What's happening?'. Sometimes I think that the people I work with and the people around me are more excited than I am. They just think it's so great, and it's a really great opportunity. Here in Oxford County, I've had a lot of support." Miss Universe is known to be one of the biggest stages when it comes to beauty pageants, and surprisingly, this is Tara's first foray into a beauty pageant. She says the most common question or suggestion people have for her is if she's watched the movie "Miss Congeniality". Photo courtesy of: Daria Keenan of KeenanD Photography.
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