Caledon’s Chanel Beckenlehner glad she sought Miss Universe crown

February 8, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
She may not have won the Miss Universe title last Sunday, but Cedar Mills resident Chanel Beckenlehner is still very glad she was in the race.
“It was great!” she declared last Wednesday afternoon in a phone interview. “The Miss Universe experience was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent my country Canada.”
Beckenlehner, 26, gained notoriety with the gown she wore in the preliminary competition. She wore an outfit based on a hockey theme, complete with hockey sticks, a net and even a score board.
Despite that, she was not among the 15 (out of 88 contestants) to advance to the semifinals. The contest, which was held in Doral, Florida, was won by Miss Columbia, Paulina Vega.
Beckenlehner admitted she was disappointed at the way things turned out.
“I did as much as humanly possible,” she remarked. “There was literally nothing else I could have done. I definitely brought the best game that I could.”
Beckenlehner was crowned Miss Universe Canada last May, and she will still hold that title until she crowns her successor this coming May. But she is already looking to the future.
“Now, I’ve got to focus on, well, making money,” she remarked.
Beckenlehner already has a degree in political science from University of Toronto. The next step she has planned is to go to a school in Toronto (possibly Ryerson) for a masters degree in communication, and she hopes to work her way up from there.
Beckenlehner was speaking from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she was taking a couple of days off to relax after the pressure of the competition. Once she gets home, she said the immediate tasks will include messages of thanks to her sponsors. After that, she’s hoping to sign up with a talent agency for some work, prior to going back to school in the fall.