After a lifetime of putting others first and feeling the societal pressures that are often placed on girls, Abbotsford’s Sandy Sekhon did something for herself and chased a dream this past summer.
The 2010 Abbotsford Traditional Secondary School grad stopped thinking about what it would be like to compete in a pageant and just decided to go for it – and she excelled.
Sekhon impressed the judges with her speaking, flare, beauty and charisma to earn the title of Miss BC World. She beat out nine other girls at the socially distanced event in July and is now in Ontario to compete against close to 50 other females for the title of Miss World Canada.
At age 27, Sekhon is right at the age limit and said she probably would have competed earlier but she felt pressures to achieve things like be married and have children by her age. She said those thoughts held her back and part of why she wants to win Miss World Canada is to let more girls and women know that the path she took is completely fine.
“What I want to highlight in particular is that as women I feel like we’re conditioned to put others before us and make sacrifices,” she said. “Especially in some cultures, there’s a lot of weight put on family honour and what society will think, which doesn’t allow girls to just be themselves.
“I want to empower those girls to not be afraid to put their happiness first and know that it’s OK to do so. I want to inspire them to go after what they want and live the life they dream of. I often look back and wonder what I could have been capable of if I had that kind of encouragement from a young age.”
Being the eldest female in her family with many siblings and cousins, Sekhon said she had to be a role model and that responsibility often led her to make safe life choices.
“From a young age I had this sort of timeline I wanted to follow,” she said.
“By age 17 I’ll have found the one I want to marry, then I’ll go to university, then get a job, start a career and get married. I always held myself back from doing things like pageants because I wanted that timeline. But in recent years there was a point where I just thought, this isn’t the life I want. I travelled, met lots of wonderful people with different points of view and it made me realize what I really wanted and what would make me happy.”
Sekhon, who works full-time as a marketing professional, has also taken up photography in her spare time and has now shot engagement photos, fashion, events and weddings with her @capturedbysandy_ brand.
“I don’t like to hold myself back anymore,” she said. “And I want to reiterate that to all girls. If it’s something you really want to pursue, then you can find time to fit it into your schedule.”
The former University of the Fraser Valley student arrived in Toronto earlier this week and there will be preliminary competitions all week long. The title will be awarded on Saturday (Nov. 7).
“I’m feeling very confident, excited and prepared,” she said, noting that she is looking forward to the opportunity to reach and inspire young girls.
If successful, Sekhon would go on to represent Canada at the Miss World pageant, which has been holding competitions since 1951. She would also attend events, help with charity fundraising and any other opportunities that come about. As part of her Miss BC World responsibilities, Sekhon helped raise $1,300 for the Children’s Wish Foundation with a virtual dinner in September.
To follow along with Sekhon on her Miss Canada World journey, visit her Instagram page at @sundeepsekhon.
People’s Choice voting is also available and open to the public, to support Sekhon in that way, visit catchthecrown.com/pageant/miss-world-canada-2020.
For more information on the pageant, visit missworldcanada.net.