Black Press Media is a proud partner of the Miss BC pageants, with this year鈥檚 event taking place June 29 - July 1in Fort Langley. As part of the People鈥檚 Choice Award, we are posting contestants鈥� biographies online for readerstolearn more about the women and girls from their communities and to put in their vote.

Submitted by Andrea V. of Burnaby:

The reason why I am entering Miss Teen BC is to grow as a person, acquire new experiences, meet new people, and enjoy the workshops at the program as well as supporting the Cops for Cancer fundraiser. In this experience I hope to gain confidence and learn more about myself.

Some things that make me unique are my abilities with languages. I speak Japanese, Spanish, and English fluently which gives me the ability to interact with people in different languages. I think this is something that makes me very unique.

I also like to volunteer and help others by teaching them new skills, such as music because I have been playing violin for more than 6 years.

鈥淥ur happiness lies in the happiness of the other people鈥�- Anonymous This is one of my favourites quotes because it means that you should share and give your happiness to others, and that it is not all about yourself. Trying to find your own happiness is more difficult than giving someone happiness to their life, which is why this quote motivates me