Daily Times

Pakistan’s first-ever beauty queen to represent the country at the prestigious Miss Universe pageant, Erica Robin opened up on her journey which led to the grand stage.

Sitting across the host Nida Yasir in morning show ‘Good Morning Pakistan’, Karachi’s Erica Robin, 25, who was crowned Miss Universe Pakistan in September this year among the five finalists, to represent the country for the first time in the 71-year history of the beauty pageant, in El Salvador earlier this month, shared her career journey of nine years before she finally made a mark at the eminent beauty pageant, securing a spot in the Top 20 finalists.

Describing her professional life as a ‘roller-coaster ride’, Robin shared that she started working at the early age of 16, immediately after she completed her matriculation. “I wanted to be independent and my family was fine with it, they didn’t have any problem with me working, but it was after a few years when I decided to step into modelling,” she said. “My father had a few concerns because no one from the family was in this profession or the media industry.”

“But I tried my best to convince him. When he saw me working in this field and how tiring the job is, he kind of understood that this job is also as respectable as any other job,” she added. Robin also mentioned that her mother has always been supportive of her career choices and never had any objections. Robin shared that she did all sorts of odd jobs and frequently switched between industries during her earlier years and even worked in double shifts when she started getting modelling assignments initially. “I didn’t want to let go of that permanent job initially, because you are never sure of the modelling gigs you’ll get. So I would work at a software house at night shift and would shoot during the day,” she stated.

“Later, when I started getting assignments regularly and felt secure in this profession, I decided to quit that regular job and completely dedicated my time to this profession,” Robin affirmed, adding that she worked with almost all renowned brands in those three years, before she got to know about Miss Universe Pakistan and decided to try her luck there.

“I’ve always seen pageants and I’m a huge Sushmita Sen fan, so when I got to know that Pakistan is finally on the list, I had to try it,” she said.

Robin revealed that initially 20 girls were selected across Pakistan, for the national pageant, before they were cut down to five and then to the final Miss Universe Pakistan, who was picked to represent the country in the international competition.