Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines Raylene Browne, a Brownsville resident, was crowned Miss New York Continental last month, becoming the third Vincentian-American to capture the coveted title in the last three stagings of the pageant. The two previous winners were defending queen Kayla Mcletchie, the daughter of a Vincentian mother and a Trinidadian father, who captured the crown in 2019 from a field of five other Caribbean beauties, and Kaila Phillips, who won the title the previous year. On June 20, Browne, 19, was adjudged the winner in a field of five other contestants, who competed in swimwear, talent, evening wear and interview categories during the beauty pageant at I.S. 275 on Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville. First runner-up was Miss Jamaica Samia Leslie, while Miss Trinidad and Tobago Amani Jordan earned the second runner-up spot. The prestigious Miss Congeniality Award was presented to Miss Haiti Adianna Basquiat. The other contestants were Miss Belize Alexis Colliard and Miss Puerto Rico DeAsia Briana Samuels. Miss Guyana Octavia Grimes did not compete because of a recent car accident, organizers said. Browne — who was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 12, 2007, and whose mother and father hail from Kingstown and Campden Park, respectively, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines — told Caribbean Life exclusively that being crowned Miss New York Continental is “both an honor and a responsibility, but most of all it is a promise.” [caption id="attachment_84346" align="alignnone" width="467"] Defending Queen Kayla Mcletchie crowns the new Queen Raylene BrownePhoto by Nelson A. King[/caption] [caption id="attachment_84341" align="alignnone" width="700"] Contestants in swim wear.Photo by Nelson A. King[/caption] “I am overwhelmed with jubilance, and I feel eager to make use of this opportunity,” said Browne, a student at York College, City University of New York (CUNY), on a full scholarship, with dual majors in psychology and political science. “I made a promise to educate the youth and advocate for the people as their Miss New York Continental, and I intend to uphold that,” added Browne, who plans to later pursue studies in law in fulfilling her dream of becoming an attorney. “I am appreciative of everyone who believed in me.” To be completely transparent, she said she entered the pageant with “zero intentions of winning.” “I acknowledge the prestige of the title, but I was focused on what truly mattered to me: the people,” said Browne, who currently works at an unidentified law firm as a social work intern in downtown Brooklyn. “I was in it to do my best and to share a story that many of us Vincentians have lived. I wanted to make sure that, even in loss, I would have won so long as I made someone feel seen.” She said her platform focused on education and legal systems reform. “As someone who has personally experienced obstacles of adapting to a new country, not to mention having experienced the legal and education systems of both St. Vincent and the US, I understand how transformative knowledge can be,” said Browne, who resided with her family in St. Vincent and the Grenadines for part of her childhood years, returning to the US when she was 7. “I believe knowledge increases self-efficacy, allowing people to pursue their passions in confidence,” she added. “We, as a people, cannot make choices for ourselves if we don’t understand the gravity of those choices and what they could entail. It doesn’t stop there either; education can be used to develop any subject area over time, so there is diversity within a community. [caption id="attachment_84340" align="alignnone" width="700"] Pageant Founder and President Yvonne Peters, third from left, with members of the Caribbean-American Cultural Group, organizer of the pageant.Photo by Nelson A. King[/caption] [caption id="attachment_84343" align="alignnone" width="467"] The new Miss New York Continental Raylene Browne, Miss St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with her mom, Rochelle Raylene Browne, and brother, Grayson Brown, after winning the crown.Photo by Nelson A. King[/caption] “Financial literacy is diminishing and people do not know how to build generational wealth,” Browne continued. “Being intentional with our educational systems and shifting to incorporate real world subjects is imperative for change in our nation. The legal systems of both countries have improved, but there is so much more we can do.”