“There ‘s a stigma attached to me in that people might tend to say, ‘oh she believes she’s going to win because her daddy is ‘Cutie’ Benjamin but everything that I have earned, I’ve worked hard for it. That’s something I want to get out there. My dad will support me but I don’t achieve my goals because of him; I work for them.“ Dorri

Name: Dorri Ophelia Benjamin
Age: 20

Profession: I’m currently a student of John J College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY. I’m majoring in Criminal Justice and then after that, I’ll take my LSAT and go to law school.

Birthday: September 8

Where are you from? I was born in New York but raised here, I’ve been here since I was four months.

Schools attended: St John’s Catholic Primary, Antigua Girls’ High School
How would you describe yourself? Very outgoing, fun loving, committed to whatever goals I have set in place for myself.

What do you like to do in your spare time? I love dancing. Dancing is something that I can’t see myself doing without because it helps me to express myself in other ways instead of talking. I actually can bring out my emotions through dancing. I also play the piano and I like playing some types of video games.

I’m from a musical family. You know the Masons and we have this love for music. My mom is June Mason, daughter of Oscar Mason. He taught all his children how to play instruments and he built them as well. Mom plays the trumpet and Auntie Joan plays the saxophone.

Are you a member of any groups? VS School of Dance, and I have my own dance club at John Jay. It’s called Universal Image.

What is your passion? My passion right now, career-wise, I’m interested in the forensic part of criminal justice. We’ve done a few mock crime scenes and I like trying to figure out evidence on crime scenes to find out exactly what the situation is.  Hobby-wise, my passions are dancing and music.

Where can you be found regularly on a Saturday night? Either at home or at practice, maybe dance practice or hanging with friends.

What is your reason for entering this pageant? It was always something I wanted to do. I always wanted to be in pageants but my dad told me I had to keep my grades up. I got myself together in training and talent and I think that this year I will do my best, so I’m going for it.

What segment are you looking forward to most and why? I’m actually looking forward to three segments. I’m anticipating the talent portion because I know my talent is going to be strong and I want to hear the crowd’s feedback. It’s going to be different from what the Antiguan crowd is accustomed to and I want to hear and get their feedback. The other segment I’m anticipating is costume because we get to be ourselves. We get to enjoy ourselves on stage. We get to bring our personalities out to the public and also we get to bring the costumes to life. The other segment is evening wear because this year, we helped to design our dresses and we get to say how we want our dresses to look and I’m anxious to see what everyone is going to come up with.