REIGNING Miss CNMI Universe Virginia Ling Gridley, one of the most photographed delegates in the 2002 Miss Universe beauty pageant in Puerto Rico, says she has achieved her goal of making the Northern Marianas known to the rest of the world.
“It was an amazing experience and I feel I accomplished my goal of representing the CNMI to the best of my ability,” Gridley told Variety via e-mail.
A world history teacher at Marianas High School, Gridley picked up several awards in the Internet which, she said, was “quite an accomplishment.”
She was also selected with four other women out of the 75 delegates to speak on cultural and women’s issues.
The discussion was pre-taped and played during the pageant telecast on May 29.
The 22-year-old Gridley was also chosen to speak in an interview during the actual pageant and it was played live during the telecast.
“I was asked to share my voice and my mind, and not just my physical appearance, with the millions of viewers. That, in itself, was very rare and I could not be more proud of those feats,” said Gridley.
She had never been to San Juan, Puerto Rico until May 8. During the prestigious beauty pageant she met “some of the most amazing women” in the world.
Her closest friend during the three weeks she spent there was Miss South Africa Vanessa Carriera who was crowned Miss Universe 3rd Runner Up.
“We bonded very quickly and were inseparable for the three weeks in San Juan. It was so amazing to see such a deserving, extraordinary woman earn her title,” she said.
Her room mate, Miss Canada Neelam Verman, was also in the top 10 finalists.
“It was so exciting to see some of my best friends in those esteemed positions,” said Gridley, who aims to pursue her passion for cultural anthropology.
After the May 29 pageant, she and her family went straight to Florida for a vacation.
Gridley was unable to watch the telecast until a week after the pageant. The show was broadcast live by CBS to more than 176 countries and territories.
“I couldn’t believe that was me on the screen. It was an absolutely surreal experience,” she said, as she spent a night with her family in Florida watching the video.
Oxana Fedorova of Russia bagged the 2002 Miss Universe crown. Justine Pasek of Panama won 1st Runner Up, while Ling Zhuo of China won 2nd Runner Up.
