Ena Vehabovic is a UBCO engineering student who will compete for Miss Canada next week.
Image Credit: Contributed
May 09, 2015 - 10:33 AM
KELOWNA – A UBC Okanagan engineering graduate wants the world to know we need more female engineers. So she’s entering the Miss Canada pageant.
Ena Vehabovic, 22, is one of the very few female fourth-year engineering students at UBC’s Okanagan campus. In a graduating class of 150, only 22 are women so she’s taking her message of gender equality to the Miss Canada pageant in Vancouver next week.
Vehabovic is originally from Agassiz but moved to the Okanagan after high school. She says growing up she never had a female engineer to look up to and she’d like that to change.
“I want young girls to know that you can like things like pretty hair and makeup and be wonderfully female and at the same time you can be good at math, sciences and engineering,” she says. “Engineering needs a female's perspective. It’s a science that is all around us and women haven't had much of an influence."
Vehabovic spends what little free time she has hiking the many trails around the valley. She also loves running, biking and swimming.
“Anything outdoors,” she says. “Almost every weekend I’ve tried to go out and explore Kelowna.”
The annual seven day pageant starts Monday, May 10 in Vancouver with contestants from across the country vying for the crown and ultimately the chance to compete for the title of Miss World in London.
Contestants are judged and awarded points in categories like beach fashion, talent, sports, peoples choice and the one Vehabovic hopes to win.
“The main thing is you’ve got to have a purpose," she says. "My purpose is to try and get more girls into engineering."
You can follow Ena Vehabovic's journey on her Facebook page.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2015