A student DOCTOR at prestigious Cambridge University has won a place in the Miss England final.
Carina Tyrrell, who is in her fifth year of medicine at Murray Edwards College, gained a place in the final after she was crowned Miss Cambridgeshire.
The 24-year-old, who hopes to become a global health doctor at Addenbrooke’s Hospital when she graduates, will now compete in the national beauty contest in June.
“I’m absolutely over the moon. I’ve always been interested in beauty, modelling and fashion and the Miss England competition is something I have always wanted to do,” said Carina. “This is the last year I could take part in the contest and Cambridge means so much to me I really want to give something back. Maybe if I can do well in Miss England I will be able to do that.”
Carina has one more year left at Cambridge University and currently juggles lectures with shifts at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in the city. She is also president of the Global Health Society at the university, which has just started a project to help the homeless in Cambridge. Carina, who is the only member of her family to go into medicine, has always been interested in fashion too and took part in a charity catwalk show when she was at school.
“When I was younger I made a range of dresses and then modelled them at a catwalk show to raise money for charity,” she said. "In my first three years at university I had to hold back on the modelling as I had so much studying to do, but last year I did some photo shoots and I also won the under 21 category in the Cambridge Model Search competition at the Grafton Centre.”
Carina competed against 12 other girls in the Miss Cambridgeshire competition, which she was encouraged to enter by family and friends. She had to take part in an interview round, raise money for charity and model a series of dresses, including an eco-dress, which she made using autumn leaves.
“Autumn is my favourite season so I collected leaves and my friends all helped me sew them on to a dress,” said Carina, who moved to Cambridge for her degree course. I selected a tennis outfit for the sportswear section and chose a special new dress to model for evening wear.”
She will now have to start preparing her outfits for the Miss England final, which will see 60 winners from across the country compete at the Riviera International Conference Centre in Torquay on Monday, June 16.
“It would mean so much to me to win Miss England, as I want to give so much back to the country,” said Carina, who has two step sisters. “Being a Miss is not just about physical attributes, you have to be beautiful on the inside and have a caring heart too and be well-rounded. Miss England is a beautiful ambassador for the country. I am very caring and always try to help people as much as I can. I think winning the competition would enable me to help people in a new way.”
Carina, whose mum was a secretary and dad was a physicist before they retired, would gain a place in the Miss World final if she won the Miss England contest.
“I’m delighted to say the Miss England competition is attracting a new breed of girls from all walks of life,” said Angie Beasley, director of Miss England. “Our message is Beauty with a Purpose - the ethos of Miss World. Carina is the first student doctor to reach the final and we think she has a great chance of taking the crown in Torquay in June.”
