Miss Universe Singapore top 15: She solves maths problems for fun
PUBLISHED ONSeptember 16, 2016 2:00 AMByConstance Goh
When Miss Nikki Tay was nine years old, Miss Nuraliza Osman was crowned Miss Universe Singapore (MUS) in 2002.
The lawyer, who is currently the national director of the pageant, is Miss Tay's exemplification of the combination of beauty and brains and someone she looks up to.
The 23-year-old trainee lawyer told TNP: "She is an accomplished lawyer who inspires me... she is extremely elegant. She commands attention whenever she speaks."
Miss Tay isn't doing too shoddily herself in the academic department.
At Singapore Chinese Girls School, she topped her cohort with nine A1s for her O levels and went on to score 4As for her A levels at Raffles Institution.
She also graduated with first class honours in a few modules while completing her Bachelor of Law at the University of Bristol in the UK.
She said: "I don't mean to brag, but studying comes easily to me. I love studying."
A self-professed nerd, she gets enthusiastic when she has mathematics problems to solve.
Adding that she loves logarithms, trigonometry, complex numbers and vectors, she used to solve mathematics problems for fun.
Miss Tay hopes to be the next Nuraliza Osman and represent Singapore on the world stage - both as a beauty queen and lawyer.
However, she says the societal perception of beauty and brains not being able to coexist troubles her, especially since she works in a "conservative legal environment".
Her mentor has openly said that he is anti-pageant as pageants make a big fuss over appearances.
One of her close friends even slighted her, saying that she would never take part in a pageant because it would take away her intelligence.
However, such remarks did not deter The New Paper New Face 2010 finalist from joining MUS as it "doesn't negate brains".
"I believe that is a very narrow perspective. I think MUS is a perfect opportunity to be a living testament that beauty does not mean bimbo," she said.
This article was first published on September 15, 2016.
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