MANILA, Philippines – New opportunities have poured in for Miss International 2016 Kylie Verzosa. After crowning Kevin Lilliana of Indonesia as her succesor in last year’s pageant, the beauty queen from Baguio has been busier than ever.

After appearing in Coco Martin’s Ang Panday, she also worked in another movie – Kasal, starring Bea Alonzo, Paulo Avelino, and Derek Ramsay. 

At the launch of LHIVE Free Redvocates, which is searching for a new generation of HIV/AIDS advocacy ambassadors on August 2, Kylie, who is also the campaign’s ambassador said showbiz is a different world for her. 

“It’s a different ball game, a different industry. So it’s something that, you know, I’m still getting used to. It’s something na you can’t go in and you’re at the top already regardless of where you came from. It’s something na it’s continuous, repetitive practice again and again and perfecting your craft. So this is what I’m currently doing, you know ako naman when I get to do something, I wanna be the best because I really wanna be good at it,” she said. 

Currently, Kylie is taking different workshops. She also just finished another movie under Viva Films.

Showbiz isn’t the only thing keeping Kylie’s schedule packed. She’s businesswoman, one of the owners of Property Access, a website with information on real estate. She is also active as a speaker on mental health, an advocacy she has championed even before being a titleholder. (READ: Why these 3 PH personalities are mental health advocates)

Asian pageantry and new advocacy

Kylie was appointed the spokesperson and ambassador of the Department of Health’s advocacy on HIV/AIDs and will help with the LHIVE Free Redvocates  – the search for the 2018 HIV/AIDS advocacy ambassadors.

The contest is the first of its kind, as they will look for 3 winners – male, female, and transwoman. ( READ: DOH launches HIV/AIDS advocacy via pageant)

“It’s really touching for me, I’m really honored. My main advocacy is mental health, [and] so a lot of people who have HIV and AIDS are diagnosed with depression or they isolate themselves from the community. Their mental health isn’t stable enough. there is still a lot of misunderstanding with their condition and what’s really happening with them So this is why we need to give more information about HIV/ AIDS,” she said.

As spokesperson and ambassador, Kylie will be taking workshops to familairize herself on the topic, as well as help out in the preliminaries and finals night of the competition.

Kylie also gave her take on the beauty pageant scene happening this year. All 4 big competitions – Miss Universe, Miss World, Miss International, and Miss Earth are set to take place in Asia in the last quarter of 2018.

Kylie said that the Asian region is a force to be reckoned with in the industry.

“I’m really really glad it’s being held in Asia. I think it’s time for Asians to be acknowledged and Asians to be part of the standards of beauty in the world,” she said.

Kylie also gave words of wisdom to this year’s representative, Ma. Ahtisa Manalo, to the Miss International pageant in Japan scheduled this November. Ahtisa’s look has been compared to that of Kylie’s. (READ: Get to know Bb Pilipinas International 2018 Ma. Ahtisa Manalo)

A post shared by Ma Ahtisa Manalo (@ahtisa) on Jul 10, 2018 at 4:20am PDT

“I think she’s her own beautiful person. She’s good. She has been improving a lot and I’ve been seeing her improvement since the last time we’ve spoken. So I’m excited for her to step on the Japan stage.”  – Rappler.com