Nova Stevens is a Sudanese Canadian model, actress, activist, and Miss Universe Canada 2020. She will represent Canada at the upcoming Miss Universe competition. Nova is SuperNova!
At the tender age of six, my family decided to send me to Canada with my teenage cousin. Growing up without my family I had to learn to navigate life quickly. Life forced me to grow, I had no choice.
Between living alone at fifteen, being a student-athlete, working a job so that I could provide for my family back in Africa, I didn’t have time to get into trouble. I guess I have life to thank for that. Experience, in my opinion, has been the best teacher; life has taught me the importance of resilience. I’ve always known I had to work hard at whatever it is I do, after all, it’s through hard work that you find success, they say. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that the key to success wasn’t only hard work, it was a combination of hard work, perseverance, positive thinking, and faith in oneself. It wasn’t until I mixed these ingredients together, that I started to see my goals and dreams come to fruition.
One of the most pivotal moments in my life happened in 2020. With the pandemic, we’ve experienced drastic changes in the way that we live life. I’m sure we can all agree that 2020 was a difficult year, however, 2020 helped me find my voice. Upon hearing, seeing, and reading about the innocent black people lose their lives to police brutality and hate crimes, I couldn’t find it in myself to remain silent. This led to me and Shamika Mitchell co-organizing a black
lives matter march in the middle of a pandemic, bringing together 5,000+ people. We all have the ability to invoke change. All you have to do is use the power that you have; your voice. My voice led me to win a beauty pageant I once thought would never happen because I wasn’t your stereotypical beauty. My voice taught me the importance of fighting for myself and others. My voice taught me my worth. I encourage you to use your voice because you too are worth
fighting for.
Connect with Nova:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenovastevens/
Website: https://novastevens.ca/
