Q&A

Q: What inspired you to enter your very first pageant?

It was honestly just curiosity. I applied impulsively one day and forgot about it completely — until I got an email saying I was a finalist. And then something inside me lit up. I thought, What if this is where I'm meant to be? Looking back, that one small step changed everything.

Q: What's the biggest lesson pageantry has taught you about yourself?

That you can lose multiple times and still win in the end — as long as you never lose your vision. Every time I didn't win, I gained something even better: resilience, clarity, and purpose.

Q: If you win Miss Teen Nederland… what's the first thing you'll do?

First? Take a nap. A very deep one.

Then? Probably walk around with the crown on for at least 24 hours straight. After that, I'd jump straight into planning the next phase of The Rise Project. Honestly, I've already started.

Q: What does The Rise Project mean to you?

It means creating something that doesn't just live online — but changes lives offline. It means doing the work quietly and consistently, even when nobody's watching. It's purpose in motion.

Q: What moment in The Gambia moved you the most?

There was a moment where I realized — this is just a chapter in my journey, but for the people I met, this is their life. What I saw as "sad" or "unfair" was their daily reality. Their fate has become their normal. That shook me.

Q: How do you stay motivated when things get overwhelming?

I remember who's watching — the girls, the families, the people who need to know someone cares. And then I give myself a moment, put on a song, or wrap my hair, and keep going.

Q: What's your go-to feel-good song before going on stage?

Easy. Tiny Dancer by Elton John. Every single time. I don't know why, but it gives main character energy.

Q: What's one fashion item you can't live without?

My silk hair wraps. They go with me everywhere. Sleep, travel, glam-up, glam-down. They're part of my signature at this point.

Q: Who's a woman you admire deeply?

I've always been drawn to Marilyn Monroe — not the Hollywood fantasy, but the layered human underneath. There's something powerful about women who are misunderstood, yet still choose to shine.

Q: Where do you see yourself five years from now?

Running at least three major arms of The Rise Project. Hopefully having opened a boarding school in The Gambia, and maybe even laying the foundation for something bigger — like a youth foundation or cultural hub.

Q: What legacy do you want to leave behind — both in pageantry and in life?

I want to be remembered as someone who gave more than she ever took. Someone whose love for people was louder than her need for recognition. I want them to say: she saw the world for what it was, and still chose to give it her softness.

If I can be remembered not for what I owned or achieved, but for the hearts I touched and the burdens I helped carry — then I'll know I lived right.

Q: What advice would you give to a younger girl reading this?

"Alis volat propriis" — she flies with her own wings.

Don't wait to be chosen. Choose yourself. Dream way too big, cry if you need to, but always rise again — with grace, with grit, and with glitter.