Karla Henry - Miss Earth 2008

Miss Earth 2008

In the final competition of the eighth edition of the international beauty pageant Miss Earth, which was held at Clark Expo in Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines on November 9, 2008, Henry was announced as one of sixteen semi-finalists who would move forward to compete for the title. She achieved one of the eight highest scores in the swimsuit competition for her stage chops, which advanced her as one of the top eight finalists to participate in the evening gown competition. She strutted a yellow-green evening gown with a high middle slit laden with rainbow-colored beads and sequins along the bodice. She then pulled away for the lead as she articulated in her video interview about going around public schools teaching about the environment as she cited that lack of knowledge about environmental concerns is a key issue in her country, in which she advanced to the top four.

In the last round, the court of four were asked one question, “What would you tell US president-elect Barack Obama about the state of the global environment if ever you were to meet him?” She used the shopworn cliché “I believe the children are our future” but gave a fresh new context to that line that added to her advantage when she answered, “Environmental knowledge is something that all of us must share, but most importantly we must teach the youth that this is something that we should instill in them so that in the near future they will be the ones to take care of our mother Earth.” She placed the highest score in the interview round and at the conclusion of the competition, she was crowned Miss Earth.

It was the first time in Miss Earth history that the representative of the host nation won the title. Likewise, it's the second time in a row that a Filipino and half-Canadian held the title of Miss Earth following 2007 winner Jessica Trisko of Canada. Coincidentally, one of the hosts during the Miss Earth 2008 coronation night Riza Santos, who represented Canada in the Miss Earth 2006, has a Filipino-Canadian heritage, but unlike Trisko and Henry, she failed to enter the semifinal round during her time.

She also won five special major and minor awards: Miss Earth Designers Award, Miss Photogenic, Eagle Express Award, Miss Fontana, Pasigandahan Awards (for Manila).

Henry's closest friend among the Miss Earth 2008 top four runner-up winners—named after the four elements—is her pageant roommate Miriam Odemba, Miss Earth-Air from Tanzania. She plans to visit Odemba’s homeland and to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

The first two weeks after winning Miss Earth was “pretty intense,” Karla describes. Together with the runners-up, Karla went around public schools to teach elementary pupils in public schools about environmental awareness. She promoted the “Green Thumbs Up” project, which enumerates 10 simple acts that these kids can practice at home. She also amazingly let her hair down during a coastal cleanup in Manila Bay. “That was one of the most memorable projects I did. People were quite surprised that we actually went to the beach and helped with the cleanup,” says Karla, who admits that spreading environmental awareness is not an easy task “because people are skeptical that when they go green, it’s expensive and more of a hassle for them.”

“Being crowned Miss Earth changed my life in a way that I became aware that preserving and conserving the environment is something to be really serious about. A lot of people think that we joined this just for the glitz and glamour of it all and that we don’t really come up with anything to help the environment,” explains Karla. “But because Miss Earth is focused on its cause, we really do get involved in a lot of activities with DENR and private corporations. Miss Earth has helped me become more aware of how my little actions can affect our environment.”

Having realized that caring for the environment is a daunting duty, this down-to-earth beauty is bent on doing her best to save Plant Earth. “I can say that I felt more complete as a woman now,” she concludes