Meet Carnival Queen Contestants 2016

Sheris Paul

“We are what we repeatedly do; excellence is then not an act but a habit.” These are the words of Will Durant and this is what Sheris philosophy is derived from. She believes that true success can only be achieved through intense hard work, perseverance and dedication.

Sheris Paul was born on May 3, 1995 to Attala Paul and Elicus Innocent; she is the youngest of three siblings. She describes herself as a fun loving individual with a pleasant personality.

At a young age, Sheris embraced training in dance and drama affording her the opportunity to develop an immense passion for the stage; she attended the Ave Maria Primary School and then went on to the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School. During her five years at Secondary School she continued developing her creative nature and flair for the Performing Arts.

Sheris participated in Miss Independence Pageant 2015 and Miss Queen of Gros- Islet, since then her love for pageants has progressed and she intends to further her personal development by way of the stage and pageantry. She aims to make it on the big screen.

Sheris intends to connect with young women like herself, to encourage, empower them, to set goals and work towards achieving these goals. She believes that young women should be more assertive and to be aware of their rights as important individuals of society.
Presently she is a student at Monroe College, Saint Lucia Campus studying Business Management with aspirations to reach her ultimate career goal of becoming a Marketing Specialist.

Bernella Velinor

If I were asked, “What defines you as a young lady?” my response would be “discipline”. I believe that it is a fundamental character trait for pursuing a lifetime’s worth of goals and throughout 23 years, it has allowed me to adopt the appropriate attitude for the various paths that I have chosen.

At six years old, I had set my first two goals; to become a doctor and attend the leading secondary school on island where I received special awards for English A, Application to Studies, Attitude to Authority, Active School Representative and other prize awards associated with athletics. After an emotionally challenging adolescent stage, whilst studying at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC), I was able to confirm my real passion. The support received from teachers and my extended family whilst growing up influenced me to pursue a career path to become a Human Resource Consultant which would enable me to help others develop. Two years after graduating from SALCC, I enrolled in the Business Management (HR Minor) Undergraduate Degree Programme at the Monroe College but withdrew after the second semester due to unfavourable circumstances.

I have also chosen the HR field because I would like to help unemployed and working Saint Lucians become more productive and passionate about self-development rather than remaining victims of dire social ills that they may be experiencing. I hope to influence employers to support employees who wish to pursue other opportunities as there are numerous unemployed and underemployed young people who are eager to fill in those posts and gain professional experience in their chosen field.

Kerline Sylvester

In order to be successful, you must believe that you can be. This quote is one which Kerline Sylvester lives by. Born on the 22nd January 1992 to her wonderful parents Ms. Rosanna Sylvester and Mr. Jn Baptiste James, Kerline always strives for excellence in every aspect of her life. She is a hardworking, confident and optimistic individual, always willing to help and motivate others.

During her primary school days, Kerline was an active sportsperson as she enjoyed track and field and long jump. She received her secondary education at the Entrepot Secondary School. During that period she excelled in academics.

Although she is not quite sure of what business she wants to venture into, she aspires to become an entrepreneur in the future. In order to achieve that goal, she believes that effective preparation is key. Therefore, she enrolled in the Business Administration Associate degree programme at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in 2011 and completed it successfully. Later, she pursued the undergraduate Business Management programme at Monroe College, qualifying for the Deans and President lists for three out of four semesters.

Kerline is currently employed with the Financial Services Regulator Authority as a receptionist and is thankful for that opportunity. She enjoys reading poetry, dancing, hiking, going to the beach and spending time with her family as she has always been family oriented.

Ann Kim Williams

On December 4, 1993, Anna- Kim Williams was born into a small family and is the first of two girls.

She attended the Ave Maria Girls’ School and attained her eight CXC passess at the St. Joseph’s Convent Secondary School. During her school years, she participated mainly in sports although Anna- Kim also enjoys dancing and was a member of the Christylights Dance Academy. Currently she is a member of the Miracle Dancers entertainment group.

Anna- Kim wants to become a teacher, because of her love for children. She wants to be able to help mould them for the future by developing character, creativity and skill to live productive lives. She believes that she could be a great leader and role model for students. Being in this pageant would be a great help in developing those characteristics.
Anna-Kim describes herself as a free spirit in search of new experiences. She believes that in order to live a meaningful life, we have to stay positive and work hard to achieve success.

Racquel John

Racquel John is a graduate of the Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. She has received awards as the most outstanding student in Theatre Arts & the Valedictorian at Leon Hess Comprehensive Secondary School and studied Business Administration at the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. Her eyes are set on becoming a dynamic business woman and marketing consultant in today’s society. She is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing at the Florida International University and is also enrolled at the Monroe College where she is pursuing a certification in Project Management; all while she holds the position as the Marketing Manager at Citizen’s Jewelry.

A very active individual in the performing arts, Racquel lives with a passion for dance and pageantry, an avenue which she believes allows her most inner expressions and flair of abilities to be exerted. She has participated in seven pageants both locally and regionally placing in the top three and capturing four titles- the latest being Miss Queen of Gros Islet 2014. She is as a senior member of Untitled51 dance group and is the host for the popular educational television programme Anansi’s Challenge.

In her spare time Racquel enjoys volunteering with groups such as Faces of Cancer Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia Horse Association and Saint Lucia’s National Youth Council.

Tyler Theophane

Seated at the foothills of the Choiseul district, approximately seven kilometres west of the village, is the small community of Cafeiere which offers to you this young, talented, ambitious eighteen year old, Tyler Theophane.

Her early involvement in dance productions, singing and acting, gave her the urge to want to be part of talent shows and eventually drawing her interests to the world of pageantry and there she fell in love.

She frequently uses a quote which she sees as motivation by Andre Kyle Dionisio which reads “Try and fail than failing to try”.

It is through these words of wisdom she got the courage to represent her previous school, Choiseul Secondary at the St.Lucia Junior Achievement competition.

As PRO of the Junior Achiever’s Club she also had the opportunity to go to Mexico to represent St. Lucia.
She is currently a member of the SLU MADE Group and the Cafeiere Youth Group in her community. In SLU MADE in her capacity as PRO she assists the little communities and also the elderly by providing hampers to these people. Upon completion of college, she intends to join the National Trust where she hopes to join the fight to protect the environment. From then, she intends on continuing her studies in hopes of becoming an environmentalist

Kaysia Sidonia Verneuil

Born and raised in Laborie; simply put, I consider myself to be audacious, industrious, energetic and caring! I also have a passion for community service and I am the current secretary of the Rotaract club of south St. Lucia. I believe in doing whatever it takes to improve my community and myself. Truth be told I am a feminist and I believe in equality for women and women empowering themselves. I attended at the Laborie Girls’ Primary School, Vieux-fort Comprehensive Secondary School and the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College. I was a very active student at school as I participated in sports, cheerleading, salsa, the school choir, debating competitions and voluntary programmes.

I vociferously believed that the school environment should not only be an academic place but one where you become a well-rounded individual. I love children and aspire to become a paediatrician as my career goal. However, I currently work as a front office agent at the Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa. I have participated in one other pageant – Mizik Mele’ Melange creole pageant where I obtained best talent and Miss photogenic!

Shartoya Jn.Baptiste

Shartoya Jn. Baptiste, daughter of Teacher for 33 years Frances Jn. Baptiste and well known National Football Coach and Agriculturist Anthony Jn. Baptiste, was born and raised in Ciceron, Castries in 1995.

Her fondness for pageantry emerged when she entered and won St. Lucia’s Most Talented Teen Pageant in 2012 and represented her country at the regional Hayne’s Smith Most Talented Teen Pageant later that year. This led her to participate in Miss Independence Pageant in 2015 where she placed 2nd runner up. At 20 years old, Shartoya can proudly say she has accomplished many things in life. She has represented St. Lucia not only in pageantry but dance, both regionally and internationally.

Shartoya finds personal strength in the words of wisdom given to her by Harold Prince, “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress and working together is success”. It is through this powerful quote that Shartoya was able to graduate with top honours in Hospitality Studies from the Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and be a captain of the senior company in her dance troupe – The Silver Shadow Performing Arts Academy for 5 years.

Because of her 8 year experience in the Performing Arts, she volunteers as a dance teacher for teens in Silver Shadow and is currently a Theatre Arts Drama teacher at the Castries Comprehensive Secondary School.

Never wanting to rest on her laurels, Shartoya plans to further her studies in the Theatre Industry and later pursue a career as a Professional Dance Choreographer, a Certified Theatre Arts Lecturer or in film directing.