Recently crowned Miss Jaycees Queen, Shan Lucien received a royal welcome Friday upon her return from Antigua.
On Wednesday, July 31, 2024, Lucien ran away with the Miss Jaycees title, which had proved elusive to Saint Lucian contestants for 39 years.
In its 61st year, Wednesday’s pageant took place at the Antigua Recreations Ground.
It featured eleven delegates representing Dominica, Antigua & Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada, the United States Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana and Haiti.
In the end, not only did Saint Lucia’s Shan Lucien win the prestigious title, but the 25-year-old also took home the prizes for “Most true to theme”, “Best Talent,” “Best modeling skills in evening wear” and “Best evening wear.”
Shan Lucien touched down at the George FL Charles Airport shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday. There, she was received by the Minister for Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture, and Information Dr. Ernest Hilaire, and the Chairperson of the Carnival Planning and Management Committee, Tamara Gibson.
Lucien was ushered to the VIP lounge where her mother, other well-wishers and the media burst into a resounding round of applause as she entered.
Gibson expressed her elation at Lucien’s victory, saying that she had done her country, her family, and herself very proud.
“Shan, you were a great contestant and a great representative for your country, and I want to take this opportunity to thank you on behalf of Saint Lucia,” Gibson said.
For his part, Dr. Hilaire said that he was delighted about Shan Lucien’s success.
“I think the team kind of predicted it and Tammy said to me if we have a chance of winning this it would be Shan,” Dr. Hilaire said.
According to the Minister, there is a “feel good” energy in the country now with the build-up to Julien Alfred at the Olympics, and Lucien’s victory has added to that.
“You’ve made us proud as a country and you have made us feel that we can continue to do great things. I think for our young women in particular pageantry is quite significant in terms of their growth, their development and the building of their confidence and you have shown that we can win at the regional level and the highest level,” Hilaire said.
The newly crowned Miss Jaycees Shan Lucien could not hold back the tears as she expressed her overjoyed feelings about the reception.
“I am so elated to be back home and also to have received such a warm welcome. I have undoubtedly received immense support from my family, from my friends, from my team and from the public and it just fills my heart with such joy that I have been able to make everybody so proud,” she said.
When asked about her mindset going into the competition, Lucien said that it was just about doing her best. “It was not about being first; it was about doing the absolute best that I could in every single category, making sure that each one, in my opinion, was a winning performance, and just having fun,” she stated.
Her advice to young women; “if there is something that you are thinking of doing that would bring you one step closer to your dream, don’t think about it, just take the step, take the risk, because you never know how far it can bring you.”
Shan Lucien said that among the things she wants to be engaged in next is her music.
“I want to ensure that I am able to share the power of music with as many people as possible,” she said, hinting that some new music from her was on the way.
Following the welcome at the airport, there was a mini motorcade around the city, followed by a reception at the Bay Gardens Hotel in honor of the 2024 National Carnival Queen and Miss Jaycees.
With all the endless killing, all the endless violence and relentless hate, the minister of tourism is still in a carnival mode. Absolute madness!!!
The young lady Shan Lucien did exceptionally well in this pageant. There were 10 others including herself competing for the title. The last St. Lucian winner in the Caribbean Jaycees was 39 years ago. I have been exposed to pageantry for many many years and I know what I witnessed on 7/31.
In my opinion, Shan Lucien is a beautiful woman both inside and out, with great manners, intelligence, discipline, charisma and confident humility….she won fair and square.
She performed very well in every segment. She was great with her interview, however, Ms. Grenada did extremely well in her response concerning global warming. I also believe Ms. Grenada provided some statistics regarding her island. To Shan’s team her parents, chaperone, make-up, hair stylist, dress and costume designer ..kudos to an amazing job very well done.
If only the good LORD above could receive 2% of the praises we humans
give to each other, for the things that perish in a short time: JUST WAITE.
The Lord comes first in everything for some of us who believe and he gets all the praise in all things. However, there is nothing wrong in celebrating someone who has done well in his or her endeavor.
Paul tells us we must “rejoice with those who rejoice” (Rom. 12:15) — we must look for opportunities to enter into the joy of others and truly empathize with those who are rejoicing.