Ashley Callingbull from the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta will compete for the title of Miss Universe Canada.
According to CTV News, what sets the 21-year-old apart from the other 63 competitors, is that she will be using her troubled past of abuse and neglect as a source of strength in the competition.
Callingbull told CTV that she grew up in poverty and suffered abuse while living in the Hobbema reserves and has had to overcome a great deal of hardship.
In an interview she stated, “Bad things happened to us – me and my mom [were] sexually abused and physically abused.”
To aid her in the competition, Callingbull has been championed by celebrity trainer Andrea Orbeck, who boasts several supermodel clients in the States. Orbeck will help Callingbull free of charge and provide her with a donated wardrobe for the competition.
Callingbull will compete in the preliminary round of the Miss Universe Canada 2010 pageant on June 12. The top 20 contestants will go on to compete at the June 14 final.
