STEFFI Pearson Aberasturi has not walked on the big stage for almost two years now.
For someone used to winning, fear and the lack of confidence can still sometimes get the best of her.
When she was just 16 years old, she joined her first pageant in Miss Sinulog and won. Besides the big win, she said that her Miss Sinulog 2011 run was special to her as she got the chance to deepen her faith and love for Senyor Sto. Niño.
But it was a year after the highs of winning Miss Sinulog, when she felt a little disappointed after falling short of winning Miss Cesafi (Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc.).
She felt that she could have done a lot better in terms of preparation. But despite the downfall, Aberasturi saw the opportunity to learn and grow more for future beauty pageants. “It opened up doors for me to improve and build my strength and character,” she said.
And improve she did, joining various beauty pageants since then and winning: Miss IPI 2012, Miss Mandaue 2013, Reyna ng Aliwan 2014 and Miss Beauché International 2015.
To be “the best as she can be in all the things that she wanted to do,” was what her father always reminded her. It stuck with her then and continues to fuel her now. Aberasturi is a firm believer that dreams, plus hard work, plus love, will result in success.
Aberasturi said that pageants are getting tougher and tougher every year. So, she challenges herself not only by winning a pageant but also by effectively sharing her purpose and life’s meaning with the crowd.
After a two-year break, Aberasturi is back as she will be representing the City of Mandaue in this year’s Binibining Cebu pageant. She considers Binibining Cebu as a great platform for her advocacy, which is to preserve the history and culture of the indigenous communities all over the Philippines through weaving.
“Weaving is an undervalued skill that is not attractive to younger generations,” she explained. She added that she wants to be an advocate in reviving the age-old tradition of weaving and make weavers see the true value of their craft. Aside from being an ESL (English as a Second Language) Teacher, Aberasturi is also selling native bags online that further supports her advocacy.
“I want to uplift the life of these industrious and hardworking weavers through livelihood opportunities to break the cycle of poverty in their lives. I want to be their bridge to the market,” shared the beauty queen.