The Miss South Africa organization will be hosting the coronation for Miss South Africa 2021 on 16th October 2021 at Sun International Grandwest Arena, where the representatives for next year’s editions of Miss Universe, Miss World, and Miss Supranational will be crowned. The organization officially announced the top 10 delegates who will now compete for the national crown.
Cheneil Hartzenberg is one of the finalists who will be vying for the coveted crowns and an opportunity to represent South Africa on an international stage. She is 24-years-old and is a commercial pilot and works as a senior flight instructor in a managerial role at a flight school. She completed a digital marketing course, with UCT online last year and is currently studying for her airline transport pilot license.
After she was announced as one of the finalists, she mentioned, "I want to tell my story and spread a message of hope to those who need it, and I want to use this platform to create a positive change for the future leaders of South Africa." Cheneil entered Miss South Africa 2021 as she found it to be a perfect opportunity where she could do her best to help pay forward the same opportunities for the youth of the country. She added, "Being someone who has benefited from youth development programs and sponsorships, I want to let the young know that their background does not determine their future."
Cheneil shared that she struggled with confidence while she was growing up, but has constantly worked on herself to motivate and uplift herself to achieve her dreams. She enjoys having one-on-one time with aspiring pilots by showing them airplanes, giving them more information about pilot training, assisting with passing some of the more challenging exams, or sharing her past experiences and being the mentor that she wished she had. She is expressive artistically - either singing and doing covers of her favorite songs, sketching, painting, or crocheting.
The beauty queen believes that beauty pageants are relevant today as pageantry uplifts women and enforces the importance of giving back to communities. Being given a platform creates a ripple effect. If a woman is empowered, she empowers her community, and if her community is empowered, provinces become empowered, and if provinces become empowered, the country becomes empowered. She wants women and girls of South Africa to know that they are capable of more than they think and everyone has greatness inside of them. It’s up to them to unlock it.
Cheneil describes herself as a compassionate, resilient, and diligent woman who would love to meet Malala Yousafzai if she wins the competition. She looks up to her as the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and as one of the greatest voices of our generation. The diva mentioned that she has inspired her to stand up for what she believes in, which is giving our youth a fair chance. The prosperity of a nation lies in ensuring that basic needs (such as education) are available to all children and young people.
The queen is one of the strongest contenders for the title and is now preparing to perform her best and win it to represent South Africa in an international competition.