MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ Katarina Rodriguez (above, left, in Francis Libiran) finished first runner-up to Mexico’s Veronica Salas Vallejo with Netherlands’ Cathelijne Madelief Heppenhuis as second runner-up at the 2017 Miss Intercontinental pageant in Egypt last Jan. 25.
In the Top 6 Q&A portion, Katarina was asked what was the lesson she learned in participating in the pageant. Katarina gave a solid reply in a smart, confident but relaxed manner:
“The most important lesson I learned from participating in this contest is an Arabic word meraki which is a word after which one of the resorts in Sunrise resorts was named. When I learned about the word and its definition which means ‘Doing everything with Passion. Soul and Creativity.’ This word resonated with me till now and I think it will for the rest of my life.”
I and other pageant enthusiasts thought that her answer would get her the crown. But the stars were not in her favor that night.
— Reported by Gerry Diaz
