Student aiming for Miss Universe glory
BBCA biomedical sciences student has said the support of her family has helped spur her on to compete in the Miss Universe contest.
Faith Gebre, 19, from Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, has made it through to the competition's Great Britain finals, taking place in July.
If she is successful in the national round she will then go forward to the global finals in Puerto Rico.
Gebre said she first got into modelling after doing her A-Levels.
She came runner-up in the Miss South Yorkshire pageant, where she said she developed her stage presence and her confidence.
She then decided to look into other pageants, and applied for Miss Universe.
"The support from my family has been amazing, they've supported me with every decision that I've made – driving me up to wherever I needed to be," she said.
"It's helped me realise that you don't need a fancy education or really big things to achieve these big dreams.
"You can start from little, and start from the passion you have."
She said she had always been interested in make-up and fashion.
Although contestants had to be confident in their looks, it was their "inner beauty and beauty with a purpose" that was also being judged during the competition, she said.
"There were doubts," she added. "You come from a small city, and you [wonder] will people want me there."
"You've got to fight those doubts, and the support from my family is what helped me be confident to apply and help me to be confident in what I have."
She is currently in her first year of studying biomedical science at Keele University and has ambitions to pursue a career in cancer research.
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