Media | Vieques Events - November, 2006

 

Kassandra Castillo
1st Finalist in the Elite Model Look contest

On September 21, Kassandra Castillo won the 1st finalist for the prestigious Elite Model Look contest.
She was selected from over 200 young women ages 13-24. The Awards Ceremony was held at the Normandie Hotel in San Juan where Kassandra was joined by ten Vieques youth and parents. The next morning, they were featured on the 11 a.m News on Channel 4 TV and later on Mediodia Puerto Rico. They also received a backstage tour. Upon Kassandra’s return to Vieques, she received a VIP welcome – greeted with flowers at the ferry by Vieques First Lady and a certificate from Youth Center Director, Cruz Belardo acknowledging Kassandra for representing Vieques.

An honors high school senior, Kassandra’s dream is to become a designer. A new poster of Kassandra was added to the VYLI exhibit at the airport. You can see Kassandra’s photo gallery: www.vyli.com.
To fulfill her responsibilities, she had a very busy travel schedule to San Juan during the last several months. She’s now focused on making life decisions about college and searching for scholarships.

Kassandra serves as a wonderful role model for young people in Vieques. Her radiant beauty lights up the room. Her dream for Vieques is for young people to be recognized for their positive actions instead of teen pregnancy, drugs and school drop-outs. Over the years, Kassandra has won other awards and pagents. In August, she assisted Unica fashion coordinator Grechen Colon to teach young Viequenses the art of modeling – to add poise and self-confidence to their lives. She’s now working on a Fashion Show to inspire other youth to reach for their dreams.

For the last two years, Kassandra has been working with the Vieques Youth Leadership Institute to teach young people to create hand-made jewelry and develop entrepreneurial skills to earn money to make their dreams come true. In March, she participated in the 3rd annual Caribbean Artisan Festival in Tortola. In June, she served as a Camp Counselor at the 3rd annual VYLI Summer Institute while developing her presentation and leadership skills for the upcoming competition. In July, Kassandra sold her jewelry at the 2nd annual Taste of the Islands at Bravo Beach Hotel, a benefit for VYLI.

Kassandra is grateful to her mentor Ileana Cambo and her clothing sponsors; to Martineau Bay Resort & Spa’s gym membership and beauty care; and to Connections, Crow’s Nest, Jade, Scoops and Trade Winds. VYLI also thanks L&M Rental and Wind Chimes Inn for their support of the VYLI fall field trip.