It gives me goose bumps: beauty queen Kat Ncala bags global hosting gig

YoTv presenter Katlego ‘Kat’ Ncala is over the moon about bagging her first international gig: she'll be hosting the Miss Teenager Universe pageant in Guatemala in August. And she'll be making history as the first African to do so.

“I was in pageants myself and for me to now represent the country, not competing, but doing what I love (presenting), that gives me goose bumps,” says the beauty queen, who walked away with the Miss Congeniality, Miss Teen Africa and Miss Teen Earth titles at the Miss Teenager Universe pageant in Mexico last year.

It's a role the 19-year-old feels she's been preparing for since she was a little girl. “I used to do these gigs in my hometown, Tembisa, in the tents where we’d call all the children to come and I’d MC,” she recalls.

While Ncala always aspired to MC Miss South Africa one day, she thought that would be the biggest job she'd ever land. Now she has her heart set on hosting such events all over the world.

"My dreams are shooting way over. In the future I could possibly host Miss Universe, Miss World, even Miss Teen Nigeria ... all those things seem attainable," she says. 

Although pageants have been called out for being sexist and patriarchal over the years, Ncala believes they are important.

“When I first entered pageants, I had no confidence whatsoever," she explains. "I couldn’t stand in front of people and just say ‘hi’, walking into a room was the most traumatising thing for me, but that boost and confidence that pageants gave me, I wouldn’t replace it for anything in the world.”

• Miss Teenager Universe will take place from August 5 to 10 in Guatemala City, Guatemala.