A Windsor woman is sporting around a new title.
Marta Stepien, 24, a St. Clair College student was crowned Miss Universe Canada 2018 this past weekend and will represent Canada in the Miss Universe pageant this December.
Speaking on AM800's the Morning Drive, Stepien says it still feels unreal but her focus now is preparing for the big competition.
"I think the most important preparation is mentally to really be confident in yourself and work on that and to be prepared to compete with some of the world's most beautiful intelligent women," she says.
She is currently studying biomedical engineering and fully supports the mentality change that pageants aren't just about beauty anymore.
Courtesy of www.missuniversecanada.ca
"It is so great to see that advancement and to get away from that stereotypical pageant image that it is completely outdated because that's not what pageants are about anymore," she adds. "They are about empowering women."
Miss Universe takes place December 16 in Thailand.
Stepien was born in Warsaw, Poland and moved to Canada where her family settled in Windsor.