Priscilla has eyes on a much bigger prize

A little over three months ago she was crowned Miss Far North Miss NZ, but now Kaingaroa teenager Priscilla de Groen Hutchinson is eyeing a much bigger prize.

She is one of the 20 contenders remaining in the search for the next Miss Universe NZ, which will be decided at Skytower in Auckland on October 5. But there is a great deal to be done before then.

Nigel Godfrey, one of the new owners of the Miss Universe NZ franchise (which he said had been reconfigured beyond all recognition from past pageants), said the initial flood of entries had been reduced to 80, and now 20, after a series of "boot camps" where the contenders had learned skills in the likes of media, make-up and choreography, and had been professionally photographed. Now the remaining 20 were bound for a retreat at a mystery destination (which required their passports to be current), leaving on August 27 and returning on September 4.

The filming overseas would play a part in the grand finale, to be broadcast live on Juice TV, and public voting would make up half the results that would determine the winner.

This is Priscilla's second beauty pageant - Miss Far North was her first - and the multi-talented 19-year-old said yesterday that she would be putting everything else on hold until it was over.

She was the Daffodil Day organiser in the Kaitaia area over each of the last two years, she (with then fellow Kaitaia College student Duncan Bakke) was selected for last year's national schools' Shakespeare production, works voluntarily with the Abundant Life school programme in Kaitaia and plans to do much more of that work in the future.

Her long-term goal is to found a dance/drama school, but that might change.

"This competition (Miss Universe) could open a lot of modelling and TV doors for me, so we'll have to wait and see," she said.