The red carpets and camera flashes will have a Prince George face in their midst at the Miss Universe-Canada pageant this coming week in Toronto.
Rameeta Dhaliwal was born and raised here, the daughter of hardworking immigrants who came to Prince for its family amenities and low cost for high quality of life. She graduated from PGSS in 2006, went first to CNC then on to UNBC in their jointly operated nursing program. Although she moved to the Lower Mainland for her first job in the nursing profession, she holds high hopes of returning to the north once her life experience is built up.
Part of that life experience is the personal development involved in the Miss Canada process. It has already been a lot of public speaking, personal analysis, expressing her views, fundraising, awareness raising, and learning to be more comfortable in the public eye.
"When I found out that this pageant was not only about personal appearance but really more emphasizing who you are as an individual and what you want to accomplish in life on top of what you've already accomplished, that resonated with me," she told The Citizen. "I want to be a role model to the younger generation. Small towns don't get recognized that much in large urban centres, and growing up in a small town it can feel harder for individuals to go out and accomplish their dreams. So for other girls in Prince George I can perhaps show that you do have a path to your dreams, in whatever your fields of interest might be."
She grew up learning the value of hard work, connection to family, community service, and appreciating cultural diversity. She is fully bilingual in English and Punjabi thanks to her parents. Her mother Ranjit works at the aboriginal choice school in Prince George while her father Manjit worked first at Upper Fraser sawmill and had a long career with Canfor before retiring.
"Dad said it was because 'in a small town I actually get to focus on my kids, be with them, involved in what they do.' In a big town you are far away from all your activities, you don't know your neighbours, you spend a lot of time and money just to have a place to live, so he was thinking about us even before we were born."
At the age of 12 her parents sent her for a three-month trip on her own to India to live with her extended family in village conditions there. She came back with a keen appreciation for the culture of Canada and a strong urge to not take it for granted. She has worked ever since then to be a community contributor, after seeing firsthand how fragile a society's quality of life can be, and how much work is involved in maintaining a community.
Some of the highlights of her motivated youth were earning the PGSS valedictorian position, coming runner-up for the city's Youth of the Year in 2007, and a community policing citation while at John McInnis Junior Secondary for her anti-drug activism.
She also volunteered for Jubilee Lodge, student initiatives like Shinerama for Cystic Fibrosis, the Heart and Stroke Foundation, and the Taste of India event for Rotary where one of her volunteer duties was Indian cultural dancing "which I love."
Now that she's in the Lower Mainland, her philanthropy continues, with efforts to help the impoverished on the downtown eastside of Vancouver. With her dog Grizzly, she takes part in the St. John Ambulance dog therapy program in hospital and cancer centre settings, and takes time also to have a fulfilling social life centred on dancing, physical fitness, learning about advancements in the medical profession and being a self-professed "foodie."
She also does her best to keep in contact with her parents, sister Bhawan, brother Sunny and sister-in-law Avneet now that all are scattered to their adult endeavors. She considers these her best role models.
She is also frequently back in P.G.
"I haven't been gone that long," she said, "but I miss everything about it. And in Toronto I get to represent Prince George which is an amazing feeling, a dream come true to stand up for my home community I love so much."
She leaves for Toronto on Saturday. She and the 65 other Miss Universe-Canada pageant contestants have events scheduled through to the Top 20 on May 24 when the crown is bestowed on the finalist. The winner goes on to the Miss Universe event in December in Brazil.
