MISS PATRIA JULY: MORE THAN BEAUTY

Nehema Ntumba

@nehema_ntumba

Miss Patria July is a prestigious pageant held annually by Patria Men’s Residence at the North-West University (NWU) Potchefstroom campus. In the past, the girl who excelled in her residence’s pageants participated in Miss Patria July. However, this year, three girls from each residence were selected to compete. The competition consisted of three rounds, with contestants being eliminated after each round. The finalists then spent a few months promoting themselves on social media and working with various sponsors. Plato, Spur, Anelle Botha and Cutting Edge were the sponsors for this year’s Miss Patria July.

For many, Miss Patria July seemed like an event simply meant to showcase beautiful women. However, for the contestants, it is so much more — it is a time of sisterhood, self-discovery and hard work. We interviewed this year’s winner, Larissa Klopper, and asked her to share more about her Miss Patria July  journey.

Larissa’s inspiration for participating in the pageant was her older sister. She watched her sister compete in pageants during high school and university and watching her emulate confidence and class on stage encouraged Larissa to begin competing as well. However, her journey was far from perfect. At times, she found herself second-guessing herself. She would continuously ask herself, “Am I pretty enough? Am I doing enough to promote myself online? How will I balance school and this big competition?” Despite these doubts, she pushed herself because she knew that if she was going to compete, she had to give 100% — even if she was uncertain about the outcome.

One quote that kept her going was: Admire someone’s beauty without questioning your own. This reminded her that the beauty of the other contestants did not take away from her own. Competing alongside the other finalists for months helped forge a strong bond between the women. Even though Miss Patria July is a competition, being surrounded by the same people for so long naturally led to connections. These bonds helped her realise that, even though they were competing and represented different residences, they were all still young women navigating life for the first time. Holding pride for your residence doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate another girl from a different residence.

Even though strong bonds were created, the journey was not without its challenges. One of the biggest challenges was finding a balance between academics and Miss Patria July. It became overwhelming at times as both demanded full attention and effort. The pressure caught up to Larissa — she admitted to writing a second opportunity for a module. It was then that she realised she needed to compartmentalise, which meant that she prioritised academics when big assignments, tests or exams came up. On the other hand, when she had pageant deadlines, she focused solely on that.

Despite the stress, Larissa believes the experience was absolutely worth it. She not only went on to win the title of Miss Patria July, but also earned the title of Miss Social Media. When asked what advice she’d give to someone wanting to participate in Miss Patria July, she said, “If you want to do it, go all in. You can only compete in it once.”

Larissa Klopper, Miss Patria July 2025, on stage at Patria July (Source: Tian du Preez)

Edited by Kyle Bauermeister