• My Zone Careers

Karuaihe-Upi at the helm of Miss Namibia

- 2023-04-21 00:00:00

Umbi Karuaihe-Upi has been newly appointed as chief executive officer of the Miss Namibia Organisation.
Karuaihe-Upi has a master’s of science degree in communication, having majored in broadcast journalism at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and a bachelor's degree in communication, majoring in radio, film and television from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.
She has also obtained certificates and diplomas from the University of Cape Town, Stellenbosch University, the Management Training and Development Institute of Washington D.C, and Tuskegee University in Alabama, as well as in TV production and directing at Sender Freies Berlin in Germany. She completed her high school education at Ella Du Plessis High School in Windhoek.

Miss Namibia
The newly appointed Miss Namibia Organisation (MNO) CEO has a variety of tasks and responsibilities, which include creating different strategies and policies necessary to guide the organisation.
In addition, she attends to client and budget-related issues.
"As you know, the budget is very important; therefore, I must strategise, manage, and control the approved budget for the organisation."
She said in her view, beauty pageants can provide a stepping stone for youth and young women to achieve their goals.
They create opportunities for self-development and self-discipline, she said.
Through the Miss Namibia and Miss Teen Namibia competitions, she wants to help create confident, articulate, well-educated women who will go on to use their platforms to accomplish economic success.
"These ladies are encouraged to do charitable work to give back to the community, inspire others, and become worthy role models for others," she added.

Words of encouragement
"My advice to people is not to be threatened by the talent of your colleagues, but to use their skills to make the team look great," she said.
She highlighted that struggles are normal in any career, and said she has relied on her talents and skills as a journalist, media expert, and gender researcher to overcome them.
She further advised that one should follow a career that one is passionate about because all career paths are challenging.

The future
When asked about what she is most looking forward to, she said: "I am looking forward to all the Miss Namibia titleholders growing and becoming successful, well-educated women. I want to create an environment where MNO will be the foundation where we can cultivate women who will be able to contribute more to themselves and the world."

In her own words:
• I am a loner and enjoy being by myself. It is ironic, taking into account my choice of career, which is constantly in the public sphere.
• I prefer to watch programmes based on true stories and read only nonfiction books, including self-help books.
• I hate shopping; it's so boring. When I attended Miss Universe 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the USA, I never once set foot in a shopping mall.
• I never get bored. I always find something to do that interests me.
• My best friends are my sisters.