The organization of Miss New Zealand hosted a private coronation ceremony for Miss New Zealand 2020 on 12th October 2020 where Sydney Faye was crowned as Miss New Zealand 2020 and will be representing New Zealand at Miss International 2020 stage. She has succeeded Miss International New Zealand 2019 Nikita Horan for the title.
Originally from Nga¯puhi, Sydney is 19-years-old and is a nursing student at Auckland University of Technology. She was able to impress the judges after 10 months of rehearsals, personal development workshops and other pageantry training leading up to the final coronation last night. After winning the title, she explained, “I think winning this title was more me winning back what I’ve put into this pageant for the last 10 months, all the hard work, all the effort. Same with all the other girls though, all of our hard work, our achievements that we’ve made.”
Sydeny is a mental health advocate and stated, “Being a mental health nurse is something that I resonate with because of personal experience. I just want to help people who are going through hardship or facing their own challenges and to make sure that they can be the best versions of themselves that they can be and the happiest version of themselves.” The diva is very excited to represent New Zealand at Miss International 2020 stage and says her favourite part of the pageant was becoming close friends with the other finalists and seeing each other become more confident.
The diva aspires to inspire other and wishes to show and educate people about the fact that if a girl dreams to do something in life, no matter what happens, nothing can stop her if she is putting effort and working hard towards achieving those dreams.
The most important section of the competition was Beauty with a Vision, raising funds for the chosen charity Brave. Brave was founded by Miss World New Zealand 2018 Jessica Tyson and works towards helping young people affected by sexual violence. “Brave is something that I resonate deeply with. I love the message behind it and I love the work that Jess has done," says Sydney.
The diva is very strong, confident, and determined towards winning the title for her country. She thanked her family and friends who had supported her and motivated her throughout. The diva believes that winning is obviously the end goal but the process of winning is something one should always cherish and not give up if the result is not as one desired it to be. She strongly believes that beauty pageants have empowered women to speak their hearts and minds out to a massive audience and she feels lucky that she gets to be a part of the same process.