Miss Teen Universe finalist inspires and empowers

Sixteen-year-old Nokukhanya Nkomo is one ambitious and confident young lady whose determination and passion have landed her a spot as a semi-finalist in the Miss Teen Universe South Africa 2022 competition.

Khanya, as she is affectionately known, is confident that she can inspire young girls in her community by encouraging them to believe in themselves and their dreams. In order to do this she needs immense support from her Roodepoort community, and she hopes her personality and passion will win her votes.

Khanya, who is currently in Grade 10 at Allen Glen High School, described herself as an extrovert who loves socialising but most importantly, she said she loves being an inspiration to young people. “I believe in myself and I believe in leaving a legacy for the generation to come. I want the public to know me and that I am here to shine and embrace myself,” she said with a smile.
She said she was drawn to the world of pageants when she and her family watched the Miss South Africa competition. When she was a Horizon View Primary School learner, she kept on entering Miss HVPS until she was crowned the First Princess. “I continued to enter the pageant because regardless of whether being crowned, I enjoyed being on stage and modelling,” she added.

She revealed that she was inspired to enter the Miss Teen Universe contest by the current title holder, Ntando Sgudla. She saw Ntando’s pictures on Facebook and saw that she was wearing the Miss Teen sash, which piqued her curiosity. Eventually she saw the flyer with details of the Gauteng auditions. “I really wanted to enter but I was so scared and nervous, so I talked myself out of it. Some time later, I was with my mom and sister, and my sister asked me if I still planned on going to the audition on the weekend. I told her that I was scared. My mom then said when an opportunity comes you should grab it with both your hands, regardless of whether you are scared or not. That pushed me to go for the interviews and I was selected as one of the semi-finalists for Gauteng.”

She said she was looking forward to outshining herself because the journey thus far has been amazing. The pageants are invested in charity, giving back to the community and making a difference. The 16-year-old currently volunteers at Faith Day Care, a crèche she used to attend. She regularly helps the teacher or assists with the cleaning around the school. However, she would still love to get involved with Dora’s Ark.

With so much on her plate, how does Khanya mentally prepare to get on stage?

“Before I go on stage, I self-affirm and just pray to God and let God do everything for me and be there for me. Once I am on stage, I don’t want to get off. It is amazing. I wish I could carry on and do it all the time,” she revealed. She acknowledged that balancing her pageant work with her studies can be very tricky but drawing up a time table and sticking to it helps. This way she has her schedule set out and she knows when it is time to study and go to school, or do her charity work.

She may be petite in stature but her dreams and aspirations are huge. She wants to empower young women to believe in themselves and their dreams; she wants them to believe that they can achieve absolutely anything they put their minds to. “I have a women campaign called ‘She is a Force’ which I would like to grow by using the Miss Teen Universe platform. It’s about empowering young women and breaking stereotypes about women. We also do pad drives. No girl should miss school because they are on their period,” she said.

If you were wondering if Miss SA is on the cards for the Grade 10 learner, best believe that it absolutely is. “I look forward to it and I feel it would be a blessing,” she smiled. She revealed that Zozi Tunzi was her favourite Miss SA. “She has to be,” she giggled. She said the 2019 Miss Universe title holder has empowered her in numerous ways and has inspired her to use her own platform to empower other people. “Zozi grew up in a world where a woman like her with her type of hair were never considered to be beautiful – which is wrong because we are. We are a creation of God. We are all beautiful with our unique features, and we should always embrace that,” she said.

Outside of the pageant world Khanya would like to become an architect. She clearly has a vision and a creative mind. “I can do anything, broaden my horizon and think outside the box. I love drawing buildings so I see myself having my own architecture firm,” she concluded.