Pharmacology student uses Miss Teen Great Britain opportunity to be a role model for young people

A GCU student is using the opportunity of making it to the final of a UK wide pageant event to act as a role model for young people.

BSc (Hons) Pharmacology student Raichael Foley is set to the take part in the Grand Final of the Miss Teen Great Britain pageant in Blackpool, which is taking place on October 13.

Raichael, who has been a long-time fan of pageantry, decided to take the plunge and apply for the competition after finding it on a social media advert. Within a couple of weeks, Raichael was offered the title of Miss Teen Inverclyde and invited to the final in just a few months time.

The Great Miss Britain competition is designed to emphasise the accomplishments of each contestant, which includes their charity and community work. Raichael wanted to take advantage of this UK wide platform to raise awareness for important causes, as well as to show young people that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it:

Raichael’s journey to GCU

“I got into Pharmacology through my grandma, who died two years ago due to a heart attack. She was initially diagnosed with cancer and her decision was to not receive chemotherapy. With me having studied many different subjects in high school, I found it very hard to narrow down what I wanted to do but I always knew that I had a passion for biology and chemistry. They weren’t necessarily my strongest subjects, but I always found them interesting to learn about.

With all that, I decided to go down a healthcare route. I didn’t want to be a doctor or a nurse, mainly because I didn’t feel like I had what it takes to do those jobs. For my CV, I then did a work placement in a pharmacy where I got to work one-on-one with the pharmacist. It was a bit daunting, since it was just me and the pharmacist. It was also my first ever job, so there was a lot of pressure on me during times where the pharmacist was busy and I had to be the one interacting with the customers. I felt bad, because I didn’t have the answers that they needed so I would need to constantly refer to him.  Wasonly in my training at the time, but I would get very specific questions! Occasionally, I would help with the prescriptions by finding the medication and putting them into a basket. It was quite fun, but I eventually realised that it wasn’t for me. I didn’t really like the environment of working in a community pharmacy – it wasn’t somewhere that I could thrive.

Having still wanted to work in healthcare, I did feel a bit stuck at that point. I had a look around at different courses and universities, which lead to me applying to a couple of courses at GCU. I applied for Pharmacology and Biomedical Sciences. I got an unconditional offer which was great and after looking into Pharmacology more, I really liked the idea of the fact that it offered a year in industry because it meant that I had that extra work experience under my belt when looking for jobs. I didn’t think that any other university was offering that, and I also saw that you don’t specialize your subject until your final year so there’s time to change your mind. For me, I felt that I was struggling to narrow down exactly what I wanted to go into so the idea of having options within the same course really appealed to me.”

Applying for the Miss Teen Great Britain Pageant

“It’s actually something I’ve always wanted to do ever since I was younger. I loved watching ‘Toddlers and Tiaras’ and although there were some aspects that I didn’t necessarily agree with, seeing the children who genuinely loved what they were doing made it look so fun. I also loved ‘Miss Congeniality’ due to the fact that it breaks down stereotypes about pageants, which is something I really had to try and get my parents on board with too, but also the fact that she was able to be an FBI agent AND a pageant contestant. In the movie, she is able to be a pageant contestant but also do her job as an agent and not have to change herself in the process.

I saw the advertisement for the Miss Teen GB competition on Instagram. I knew about the competition beforehand, but finding the post really sparked the idea to apply for it. My mum initially said that I might not have the confidence before it, because I’m a singer but wasn’t able to do anything with it due to my nerves. However, I thought ‘I’m 18, I’m technically an adult. What do I really have to lose?’. What was the worst thing that could happen? I could apply and if they say no, I’ll never meet these people anyway. I sat my mum down to tell her that I was going to apply, and she asked me why but I explained that it was something that I had always wanted to do.

I opened up the application form, completed it and sent it off and within two months I had been offered a place in the semifinal. From there, I had to complete a questionnaire and a few weeks after that I was offered a title. The title is meant to represent your country, however I was offered Renfrewshire rather than Inverclyde which is where I am from. I asked if it was possible for me to have the Inverclyde title instead, but they explained that the Inverclyde title was currently on hold as it was offered to another contestant before me. When a title is offered, there is a deadline to accept it and I was encouraged to get back in touch in a couple of weeks to find out if the title was accepted or not. I emailed them again after the deadline to find out if it was available and luckily it was! When I officially received the sash with the title on it, that’s when it really sunk in for me.”

Using the Miss Teen Great Britain platform to raise awareness for important issues

“For me, there isn’t anything that I’m required to but we’re instead encouraged to do something that we would like to do. It’s almost like a self-motivated task where you have the freedom to choose who to fundraise for, work with or volunteer with. Prior to the Miss Teen GB competition, I was already doing volunteer work and that was one of the reasons why I wanted to apply for Teen Miss GB. Volunteering can sometimes be overlooked, but the Miss Teen GB shines a light on volunteering and the importance of it. It also allows you to raise awareness around causes that are personal to you.

Since I’m a finalist, it’s given me a wider platform and reach a large audience of different people. I also took part in the Kiltwalk for Macmillan Cancer Support because of my grandma and we raised over £600, which was amazing.

The only thing that Miss Teen GB asks you to do is to raise money for a charity called Together For Short Lives, which is a charity that supports children in over 52 hospices. It’s a really nice charity which supports children with end of life care. My hope was to climb Ben Nevis for the charity. I had hiked Ben Nevis when I was 12 with my scouting group – it was a horrible experience! There was torrential rain, I nearly fell into a river; it was traumatizing! We also walked a different route from the main walking route, combined with carrying a 50kg bagpack so I didn’t have a lot of fun.

When I was trying to decide what I could do to raise money, I thought about trying to hike Ben Nevis again. I realized that as I have gotten older, I’ve been able to mentally and physically prepare for big challenges. I participated in two world record attempts with the Glasgow Hockey Club which included competing for 60 hours straight. The record is still to be verified, so we aren’t sure if we broke it yet! The team got split into two sections and the longest time I was on the pitch for was five hours straight. It was so tiring and exhausting, and when I go back onto that same pitch it brings back very tough memories! Although it was difficult, it really prepared me mentally for more taxing challenges like climbing Ben Nevis again.”

Preparing for the Grand Miss Teen Great Britain Final in Blackpool

“The Teen Miss GB final will be taking place in Blackpool and a lot of competitors will be there for it. It’s a much larger number than what you get at the Miss GB final; 13 at the Miss GB final and then around 62 at the Teen Miss GB age division. Our final takes place on the 13th of October which is the Sunday and the Little Miss division final takes places on the Saturday.

The final includes an opening number which involves a dance on stage and we have to wear either red, white or blue to represent the British flag. After that, there is a ‘Fun Fashion’ round which looks a bit like party attire. Once that is finished, there is an ‘Evening Wear’ round which involves wearing floor length dress. I’ve realized that pageantry is actually very expensive, which is something that I wasn’t expecting. Luckily, I’ve been able to find some sponsors, Sea Change Therapies based in Inverkip, which is great and they’ve been able to put some money towards me competing. 50% on what we are being marked on is the interview stage of the final, so it’s a massive part of the competition.

I’ve been able to meet with a lot of the competitors and speak to them via message as well which has been lovely, and I also found about Sophie through a story on the Greenock Telegraph. My mum found the article and told me that she was also a student at GCU which is a big coincidence! I ended up reaching out to her on Instagram and we both spoke about how it was the first time we had both competed in a pageant. We’ve since met up for lunch, practiced our pageant performance and walk – walking in heels isn’t for the faint hearted!”

Changing the perception of pageantry

“Pageants like these are really about who you are as a person and winning a crown doesn’t define you. It doesn’t limit you to what you can and cannot do. Even if you aren’t able to win a crown, it’s still been an opportunity to work on your confidence, which is something I personally really struggled with. It gives you the opportunity to love yourself, and even if you get to wear a dress and put on makeup, it’s just a small part of it. You get the chance to practice self care and present the best version of yourself.

I don’t strive for perfection; which is something I’ve learned is very unachievable. However, what I can strive to do is be the best version of me. Pageantry definitely isn’t about what you look like; the girls competing all come in different sizes and backgrounds. It’s so beautiful to see everyone in the community supporting each other, even with the small things that you do. Everyone builds each other up. I recently watched a pageant final with my boyfriend, where the two remaining finalists were standing on stage awaiting to hear the result and he said to me that he couldn’t be that happy to be the one to have lost out on the winning prize. I explained to him that it’s not about winning. In that example, the runner up would be so happy to see one of her friends win the title and that’s what it’s all about. Everyone has been cheering each other on the whole time so it’s amazing to see them get to that point.

I work with the junior section of my hockey club and I want to be a role model for them. I want to show them that you can also be a hockey player and a pageant contestant if you want to. I’m the oldest in my family so I also like the idea of being a role model to my younger sister, as well as to the younger kids that I work with in hockey and the Beavers group that I’m a leader in. With pageants, you assume that you’d be a role model for girls but I want to do that for boys and girls. It’s really about showing the that they’re not limited to what’s around them. Being an unconfident girl from a small village, it’s amazing to see what you can do if you put your mind to it.”

Finding a purpose through pageantry

“It’s been better than I could have expected. At first, I suppose I was a bit worried about making friends during it too because in school, I was a bit of a floater between friend groups. Being now in a situation where I have girls reach out to me through the group chats we have through the pageant groups has been so lovely. I’ve been able to promote the pageant in such a positive way and again, breaking down the typical stereotypes of pageants.

Before I applied, I felt like I struggled to find a purpose and I feel like I have really found it through competing for Teen Miss GB. I’m not only doing it for myself, but for other people as well. It does feel really cool to be a part of; it’s something I never thought I’d see myself doing. A first, I was a but worried about what people would think but then I realised, who cares? I can’t control what people think but I can control how I react to it. The experience has taught me to approach everything with grace and positivity, so why should I get myself down because of it?

As well as everything else, it’s also a great networking experience? I’m getting to meet with so many people that I would never have had the chance to meet before, and I love getting to know people so it’s been an amazing opportunity for that. I’m so happy and honoured to have gotten this far.”

Find more about the Miss Teen Great Britain pageant on their website

By Rachael McAlonan

Got a SCEBE or GSBS story? Email me at Rachael.McAlonan@gcu.ac.uk or connect with me on social media