Miss Galaxy takes Canberra to the international stage (and places in the Top 10!)
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After six years of competing in beauty pageants, the ACT’s first ruling Miss Galaxy Australia queen finally made it to the international stage—placing in the Top 10 and educating the world about Canberra.
Dreaming of this moment since her pageant journey began, 24-year-old local Emily Egan travelled to Texas earlier this month to compete in Galaxy International as the Australian delegate.
Contending with other young women from around the world—filling her days with endless competitions, events, and fun—for Emily, the pageant was more than vying for a crown: it was a chance for her to voice her message internationally.
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A proud Cancer Council ACT ambassador with a passion for talking about how the disease can (and does) affect everyone, beyond her impressive philanthropic work Emily wanted to use her moment in the spotlight to highlight that this is the first title that has ever come to Canberra.
“I’m a very, very proud Canberran,” she says. “It’s a huge opportunity for the ACT and I really want it to be something where Canberra leaves its mark on the crown and the next person will have huge shoes to fill because of how much work, as a state, we put in.”
Competing in five areas of competition—interview, photogenic, fashion wear, swimwear, and evening gown—Emily used every chance she could get to talk about her passion for Canberra, its people, and the Cancer Council.
“I spoke about Canberra—that was my goal going into the interview. I wanted to talk about Canberra, and I wanted to talk about the Cancer Council, and I walked out happy,” she says.
“Internationally that was what I wanted to bring to the table and so no matter what happened in my interview, I spoke about what I wanted, I spoke about my people and my cause.”
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Describing the experience as “a magical re-education mission”, Emily even packed Vegemite, Caramello Koalas, and (of course) sunscreen to hand out to the other contestants—explaining that Sydney is not the capital of Australia.
And when she was named in the Top 10 for Miss Galaxy International (in no particular order), Emily was elated that she had achieved her dream of putting Canberra on the map.
“It was shocking because I had known the calibre of the other women, I was really not expecting a place,” she says.
“Then I felt elation because Top 10 was my goal and I went in thinking, ‘It doesn’t matter what happens, but if I do place in the Top 10 what a massive bonus that would be, all my hard work would have paid off.’…it was everything I had worked for coming to fruition.”
Officially stepping back from competing in pageants now that she’s gone out with a bang, Emily has six months of her reign left before she hands over her crown and helps to mentor the next group of aspiring Miss Galaxies.
And with no plan of slowing down, you can be sure that she will continue to be true to herself, her goals, and the Canberra community.
“My next goal is to have an amazing rest of my reign and I still want to raise $10,000 for the Cancer Council,” she says.
“It [the pageant] was the microphone to my message, it’s allowed me to reach people and to be the best version of myself—which is what the Galaxy Pageant motto is.”
This Thursday 25 August is Daffodil Day and while Emily has only just gotten back to Canberra, she’s already on the move and planning on giving a little bit of hope to locals impacted by cancer.
Donate to Emily at doitforcancer.com.au/fundraisers/emilyegan
