Accounting student Laura crowned first Irish Miss Personality
It’s an exciting summer for NCI accountancy student Laura McCormack, who has been crowned Ireland’s first Miss Personality and will go straight into the Miss Ireland finals.
Laura, who turns 20 this year, was chosen from eight finalists by listeners of Ryan Tubridy’s 2fm show - solely on the basis of her 'personality, wit and intelligence'. She will compete at the ceremony in July and the winning contestant will go on to represent Ireland in Miss World in September.
Laura said she feels very at home at NCI and feels connected to the college: “I love feeling part of a community and seeing familiar faces every day, plus the fact that NCI is in the heart of Dublin city. My first impression was how modern looking the building is; I got a very positive vibe from being there from the beginning. The staff are all so helpful and really try to accommodate everyone.” (Come to our next Open Event and check out the vibe for yourself!)
Speaking of the competition, she said, “Well I always wanted to go for it but for some reason, I lacked the confidence. So when the Miss Personality opportunity landed on my Facebook newsfeed I just said "Why not". I think because the intimidation of actually seeing and hearing your competitors wasn't a factor in the Miss Personality competition, I was truly able to just be myself."
Having played for her club, school and county in GAA, she feels this played a large part in winning the Miss Personality Title. “GAA is in every community in Ireland, be they big or small”, she said, “and it also connects those communities and the people within them. I think most listeners of 2FM were able to make that connection with me and gave their vote.”
Along with GAA, Laura loves walking (“without headphones buzzing in my ears”), craft projects like knitting and sewing, and having a kick around with her sister. She is also mad about Bella, her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, who she describes as the queen in her house – “all the girls pamper her and all the boys pretend not to love her but they really do. She's such a pet, we call her our welcoming committee as she's always waiting at the door for us when we come home.”
The next few weeks will be very busy for the Offaly lass but Laura is looking forward to the challenge. “I’ll be preparing myself for the final, working and playing football - I have no idea what to expect, I've never done anything like this in my life, all I know is it’s going to be something great.”
(The rest of our students are pretty big on personality, too - check out the evidence in this lovely little video!)
Find out what life is like at NCI with NCISU's Top Ten Tips for College Life - we're sure it'll help you get to know your way around.
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