Miss Universe® Canada 2008 - The Magic Continues

AGE: 19 | HEIGHT: 5'5" | HOMETOWN: WINNIPEG, MB

Jessica is a 19 year old, University of Winnipeg student, intending to major in music and theatre performance. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Jessica was able to enjoy a variety of activities, and educational opportunities, due to the multicultural, sports, and art passionate people that live in her wonderful city.

Sponsored by: Essentique Spa Salon, J.S. Collections, Swank, Canada Inns Express, Centerplate, Ralph's Custom Tailors, Family and Friends.

Biography (click to open) ±

Growing up in a single-parent family should have been a liability, but was actually beneficial. It taught her to work harder, and she developed wonderful friendships in place of family. Over the years many coaches stepped forward to assist her as soccer goalie, fastball pitcher, and volleyball player. Mentors fostered her great love of performance, many of them teaching her on a volunteer basis, when lessons were not financially possible. Jessica would like to thank all of those people, because their kindness brought her to where she is today.

Jessica's passion is performing. She loves to entertain, to make people laugh, to lighten the moment. She has volunteered her talent to various causes, The United Nations, National Women's Day, Child and Family Services, and worked tirelessly for various theatre and sports groups.

Jessica is proud to be a part of this country, a country that is the most accepting of diversity in the world. Diversity widens horizons, awakens a broader view of issues and provides opportunities, like this one.

Whether or not Jessica becomes Miss Universe Canada, she would like to tell each and every daughter of a single-mother, that nothing, and no-one in this Universe, can or should stop you from reaching for the stars. If you meet a barrier, go around it, over it, or through it. Be the best that you can be, and share your good fortune, because it always comes back to you in a thousand ways. Sharing is the Canadian way.

To the troops in Afghanistan--you know who you are. Thank you!

Questionnaire (click to open) ±

Are you currently a student? If yes, where? Area of study:
Yes I am enrolled in first year of University at the University of Winnipeg, hoping to major in Theatre Performance.

Are you currently employed? If yes, what is your occupation?
Yes I work as an actor and a server.

Have you completed secondary school? If yes, where?
Yes. Grant Park High School.

Have you completed university/college? No

Have you completed any technical/professional school? No

Languages spoken Fluently (please include your native language if English is not your native language)
English

List any special training you have had (music, art, drama, dance, etc).
I have studied voice, piano, jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, art, and drama!

In what sports, if any, have you participated and how long have you participated in each sport?
Soccer-6 years
Fastball-10 years
Volleyball-6 years
Kickboxing-1 year

Please list any schools and universities (public/private/graduate/trade or technical) you have or are attending, as well as the area of study, graduation date and any degree or certification you received.
Grant Park High School---Graduated with honours in June 2007.
University of Winnipeg---Theatre-Spring 2011

What charity/charities have you supported with your time and/or resources over past two years?
United Nations
National Women's Day
Child and Family Services

What would be your "dream job" in life?
If I could do anything, I would hope to have a job where I was helping people, and would love it even more if I were performing while doing it. If I were to be completely selfish however, I would love more than anything to perform on Broadway. That has been my dream since I started talking.

Name one person, other than your parents, who has had the most influence on your life? Why?
To ask me to name one person is so difficult, because outside of my mom, I have been fortunate enough to have so many wonderful influences that were not family to help me to get to where I am today. If I were to choose just one, I would choose Janna Larsen. She is my high school performing arts teacher, who I met for the first time at my awkward age. I was funny-looking, had braces, low self confidence, and more drive to become a performer than anyone i knew, but i was afraid to let go, and just be me because I was so afraid to be teased some more.

I knew high school was a fresh start, but I didn't know where I started and my peers ended. I was too busy trying to fit in. She was the one person who saw through my walls, and helped to bring my personality out. She taught me to be me, and the 'me' was great! Not only that, she made me realize that life doesn't always go how you plan, but also you have to always make the best of it. She always had the drive to perform, but didn't get to make the "performance" part her career. Instead she got a master's degree and a teaching degree on top of her music degree and got to teach others how to perform. She is an amazing person, teacher and for me, my mentor. I can and always have been able to tell her anything, and she always had the right advice.

Confidence is the key to success. I didn't know that before I met her, and probably would not have tried half the auditions I did, and never would have dreamed of applying for the Miss Universe Canada Pageant. I would have still been that out-of-place pre-teen with no confidence in what I was doing. Although she never ended up making the performing part her career, she instead got to give SO many young individuals confidence in themselves and their abilities, and it reflected in other areas of their lives as well. Janna could take anybody, find out what they needed to be the best that they could be, and bring that out of them. She is one of the most inspiring women I have ever met, and I believe she is the biggest influence in my decision to stick with performing.

The transformations I watched over the years with many of my peers were amazing. Kids who would have never been caught singing in the shower let alone 5 years later were starring along side myself in the school musical. She is an amazing woman, and I would be content to be 1/10 of the person that she is.

What is the proudest personal accomplishment (other than being in this or any other beauty pageant competition)?
I have had many proud moments in my lifetime, and I am lucky to have had so many. I think the most recent and relevant would be graduating from high school with honours, and receiving the prestigious 'Johnson-Takoski Award for Excellence in Choral," as well as being the first person to receive the "Rainbow Stage Scholarship" and perform in the show in the same year.

What is your career ambition and what are you doing or plan to do to accomplish that goal?
I want more than anything in the world to perform. If it means working in a dinner theatre for the rest of my life, making minimum wage and making people smile, then so be it. My goals are set much higher though. I plan to attend a performing arts college in Canada starting September 2008, and from there, get a degree. My dream is to perform on Broadway, or in 'Canada's Broadway', Toronto.

Although my goal is to perform, I don't want to limit myself to only theatre. I would love to act for the screen as well, or even just sing, but it is difficult to define what kind of performer I could be, as I don't have enough training or experience in anything but theatre. I hope that whichever path I choose in performing, I can also help many people along the way. I would love to do what Janna Larsen has done for so many others and me. If I am lucky enough to be a "star", I want to use my influence to make change in the world, and help better tomorrow. I want to give back to the world.

There are so many people that have helped my in my life to get to this point, whether they were coaches, teachers, mentors, friends or family, and I would love more than anything to be all of those things to young women all around the world. I would love to have the opportunity to talk with children, who come from unconventional families, and children who are underprivileged, and give them the confidence and resources they need to believe in their dreams and go after them. I want to start a charity for children who don't have the funds or resources for extra-curricular activities. A place where all children get the same opportunities, not just the privileged ones.

Describe where you were raised and what your childhood was like.
I was born and raised in a single-parent family in Winnipeg, Manitoba. My mother is my best friend, the person I turn to for help, the person who will always be there no matter what. For a lot of my life, she had to work 6 days a week, as a dental hygienist, just so that I could have the same opportunities as everyone else. In my lifetime, I had the opportunity to be a Girl Guide, figure skate, speed skate, go to all kinds of camps, dance, sing, act, play piano, soccer, fastball, volleyball etc. Holidays were shared with great families that adopted us along the way.

List any interesting or unusual jobs you may have had.
At the age of ten, i started working for a fundraising company, that sold different things such a s chocolate to help offset costs for different charities. Many of the people that benefited were inner-city children and underprivileged individuals who otherwise might not have had those opportunities. I did that until i was 14. It taught me a lot about people, how good I really did have it, and how the littlest thing can make the biggest difference in someone's life.

List any volunteering you have done.
-Winnipeg Harvest
-Take Pride Winnipeg
-Junior Musical Theatre Company
-Burton Cumming's Theatre
-Heritage Fair Judge
*Several sports and theatre groups*

Where is the most interesting place you have been?
Iceland is the most amazing place on earth! There are volcanoes, hot springs, glaciers, geysers, quicksand, lava, ocean, mountains, waterfalls, everything but rainforests and mosquitoes, ha! The most interesting adventure I have taken would be when I took a greyhound bus from Winnipeg to Orlando Florida, when the troops were being deployed, and the young 17 year old men who could not vote were on there way to fight a war. It was another time in my life when I realized how lucky I was.

What makes you unique and different from the other contestants?
I beat the odds! I am not the stereotypical child of a single-mother. I prove this is the land of opportunity, and everyone can make a difference and be who and what they want if they are willing to work hard enough. I have always had to work ten times harder than the people around me just to be considered equal, and for that I have become a very strong, independent, charismatic woman, who can and will be a great role-model for other young women who have been told they are not good enough. Culturally speaking I am also quite unique. I am an Icelandic, French, Danish, Inuit, Jewish, Lutheran Canadian, and I embody the multicultural country that we are all a part of.

What is your philosophy of/in life?
If life deals you lemons, make lemonade, sweeten it with humour, and share it with others.

What do you hope to be doing in 10 years?
I hope most of all that I will be successful in whatever I endeavour. Most of all I hope to have made a difference in a lot of lives. I would love to be starring on stage or on screen somewhere, but I would enjoy life just as much if I were performing in a dinner theatre, a hospital ward, or a court room.