A young Drumheller woman has her eyes on one of the biggest stages of all, being named a finalist in the Miss Universe Canada Pageant.
 The Mail brought readers Madison Colberg’s journey into the world of pageant and competition. In June of last year she competed in a Southern Alberta Regional Fitness competition and last November announced she would be competing in the 2015 Miss Teen International Pageant in Jacksonville Florida come July.  
    Before that however, the 19 year old has been selected as a finalist for Miss Universe Canada pageant in May. She is confident and ready to take the risk.
    “The fitness competition was also uncharted waters. I have always been a person that when I set my mind to it, I go for it. It sounds sort of cliché, but I say the worst they can say is no, or the worst I can do is try.”
    She adds that pageantry in Canada is much different from the United States where competition starts for many women when they are very young. In Canada, entering competitions for the first time at her age is not unusual.
    She was discovered by an agency out of Calgary.
    “The executive director of Miss Universe Canada came for a personal interview. He actually goes out individually all over Canada and selects each woman,” she said. “It is quite in depth, they really want to get a sense of who you are and what you are representing.”
    She says in some way she was destined to be a part of the competition, especially when she learned that its designated charity is Operation Smile.
    “Operation Smile supports medical surgeries for children in third world countries born with cleft lip and pallet,” she said. “Because I was born with it, it really touches close to my heart. When I was accepted, I said ‘it was almost meant to be’ because I know exactly what those kids went through and I want everyone to have access to medical treatment like I had.”
    She has started a Facebook campaign to raise funds for the charity with a goal of raising $5,000 for Operation Smile.
    If  she is successful at the Canadian competition, she will go on to the Miss Universe competition.
    Before she heads out May 16, Miss Universe is holding a People's Choice competition among the finalists. This will go from April 13 to May 21.  Go to www.missuniversecanada.ca to cast a vote for Colberg. The final competition is on May 23.