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‘Advocating for people’ is important for Annie

A LOCAL woman who is modelling for one of the North’s top bridal companies and providing help to people with speech impediments is urging females to push beyond their “comfort zone”.
Annie Masterson from Enniskillen rose to prominence following her appearance on Miss Northern Ireland when she was named as ‘Miss Canavan’s’ representative for the beauty pageant contest.
The 25-year-old says 2024 ‘exceeded all of my expectations’.
“It was the year I stepped out of my comfort zone,” Ms Masterson told the ‘Herald.
“It allowed me to have experiences I could only ever have dreamt of. I am so appreciative for this year and the circle of support around me that helped make it happen.”
The Enniskillen woman was one of a number of females who represented the county at the North’s beauty pageant contest. While she didn’t place, she was overwhelmed with the opportunity.
“I think when your from somewhere like Fermanagh these types of opportunities don’t come up too often so I was so fortunate to get to be part of it,” said Ms Masterson.
“The highlight was getting to experience it alongside 27 other amazing girls and that friendship, bond and support was incredible. My confidence has grown so much from taking part.”
Ms Masterson has used her ever-growing social media following to highlight her work as a Speech and Language Therapist, showing how people can overcome some major challenges.
“It’s not a career that is as spoken about as much as it should,” the 25-year-old said.
“I work with adults with learning disabilities who inspire me everyday with how they make the impossible possible and I wanted to be an advocate for them.”
The Enniskillen woman, who graduated from Ulster University in Jordanstown, feels that more needs to be done to support people with speech impediments locally.
“I’ve worked with neonatal babies, people with learning disabilities, vision or hearing deficits, stammers, young offenders and prisoners, strokes or brain injuries and the elderly,” she said.
“Communication is key for everyday life. This is what makes my job so rewarding.”
Aside from her work as a Speech and Language Therapist, Ms Masterson runs her own ‘Master of Brows’ business. She’s also recently teamed up with White House Bridal, in her first step into modelling.
She’s keen to encourage other Fermanagh females to push beyond their comfort zone.
“Modelling for White House Bridal has been a dream come true, getting the opportunity to wear the most beautiful dresses and feel like a princess,” Ms Masterson said.
“I could not ask for a better of a team to work with. We have so much fun together and it is so wonderful to get to work with such a successful local business.”
While she said the opportunity to compete in Miss Northern Ireland was ‘definitely unexpected’, the Enniskillen woman has big plans as she aims to achieve more in her career and life.
To read more on this story see this week’s Fermanagh Herald. Can’t get to the shop to collect your copy? No problem! You can download a copy straight to your device by following this link… Subscribe to current edition

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