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Miss
Universe 1998 Wendy Fitzwilliam relives her victory walk
at the pageant during her visit to Guaico Government Secondary
School, on Wednesday.
Photo:
Corey Connelly
BY
COREY CONNELLY
Wendy Fitzwilliam relived her initial moments of glory,
after being crowned Miss Universe 1998, during the Guardian
In Education project at Guaico Government Secondary School
on Wednesday.
The project, titled “Making A Difference,” is
aimed at instilling positive values in young people.
Several other local celebrities—sprinter Ato Boldon;
cyclist/artist Michael Phillips; swimmer George Bovell III
and batting star Brian Lara—are also involved in the
initiative, which was launched at Queen’s Royal College,
Port-of-Spain, in February.
It was during Wednesday’s question and answer segment
that Jevon Ogiste, a Form Four student, asked the former
beauty queen, “Can you show us how you walked after
winning?”
Students roared with laughter.
Fitzwilliam, wearing her trademark toothy smile, graciously
obliged.
Urging the visibly enamoured student to escort her through
her paces, the statuesque Fitzwilliam walked sensuously
across the front of the packed auditorium, giving a few
spunky twirls, to the delight of her audience.
Even the teachers had a hard time containing their applause
after her brief routine.
Fitzwilliam also sang a few lines of the ballad, “Runaway.”
Laughs aside, Fitzwilliam told the students that mistakes
were there to be made.
However, she stressed that learning from one’s mistakes
was crucial to one’s development.
Using herself as an example, she said, “We all make
mistakes, some not as significant as others. But, out of
them I have achieved and moved beyond.”
In this regard, Fitzwilliam, who confessed to being a party
girl, made it clear that although adolescence should be
enjoyed to the fullest, “some thought should be given
to the future, to the ‘What if’s?’”
“You
have to learn to think beyond next week,” she said.
Vice-president of business development at Evolving TecKnologies
and Enterprise Development Co Ltd, attorney, model, HIV/Aids
activist, goodwill ambassador, Fitzwilliam wears many hats.
During the interactive session, she told the students that
her success in fulfilling her various responsibilities could
not have been achieved without sacrifice, determination
and commitment.
“There
are going to be those instances where you are going to be
given the opportunity to make choices,” she said.
“When
making spur of the moment decisions, you should step back
and think it through. Choosing the right subjects at O-Levels
would determine your career path.”
Fitzwilliam emphasised individuality.
“Do
I take a course because the cute guy is taking the class
or, as we say in Trinidad, that slim thick thing (girl)
is doing art?” she asked.
“Any
major decisions or actions, think it through.”
She told the students that once a decision was made, they
also had a responsibility to see it to completion.
Asked her opinion on men in the society, Fitzwilliam remarked,
“They are given a raw deal to some extent.”
She said traditionally, society had not invested the same
care and attention in men as it did in women.
Claiming that 70 per cent of households in T&T were
run by women, she said girls were often given a list of
instructions in the absence of their parents, while boys
were simply told, “Do not burn the house down.”
“From
birth, we have always had to keep it together,” she
said of women.
Admitting she did not see herself as a role model, since
“I am still learning,” Fitzwilliam said she was
inspired by model/accountant Sharon Imbert, late American
actress Audrey Hepburn and South African icon Nelson Mandela.
Fitzwilliam, who met Mandela briefly during one of her HIV/Aids
missions, spoke reverently of his influence.
“He
is the most humble, spiritual human beings I have met,”
she said.
“He
has the ability to shift world opinion with a phone call
or press conference. Although he spent 27 years of his life
in prison, he has come away with no animosity.
“What
you see with Nelson Mandela is what you get.”
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