'Close to burnout': Miss Universe Singapore Carissa Yap balances pageant duties and studies to land NUS double major degree

Shut down that laptop and head out of the lecture hall for one last time, cause school is officially out.

National University of Singapore (NUS) student Carissa Yap has completed her studies.

Now, if that name rings a bell, that's because she's rather famous, having been crowned as Miss Universe Singapore last October.

On Thursday (July 13), the 23-year-old shared an Instagram post to commemorate the special day.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Carissa Yap (@ca.rissa)

Dressed in a graduation gown, Carissa poses with a bouquet in hand.

"Finally graduated!" she wrote in the caption.

Carissa studied business at NUS, majoring in finance and economics. The Raffles Institution alumna also managed five distinctions for her A-levels previously. 

If that's not impressive enough, she managed to land her double major degree while juggling pageant duties with her studies. 

Carissa told NUS Business School newsletter BIZBeat that one of the biggest challenges she faced during her competitive journey was "veering close to burnout".

With school deadlines and long hours of photoshoots, it was a stressful period for her.

Thankfully, her group mates would agree to have project calls at night to accommodate her demanding schedule.

On her end, Carissa would structure her time into small pockets in order to have "a better sense of control and direction".

Earlier this year, Carissa represented Singapore at the 71st Miss Universe pageant in New Orleans, Louisiana.

In an interview with Singapore National Co-operative Federation, she described it as "fun, stressful and refreshing".

The 10-day-long competition provided her with the chance to mingle with contestants from different countries and on the whole, Carissa found the experience to be "really heartwarming and exciting".

She was making heads turn when wearing a 3D-printed orchid dress during the national costume segment.

The eye-catching dress is a reinvention of the Vanda Miss Joaquim, Singapore's national flower.

Away from the stage, Carissa's dream is to provide financial solutions for the underbanked community, according to Yahoo Singapore. 

Now that she's graduated from university, Singapore's beauty queen might be one step closer to achieving those dreams.

ALSO READ: Redditor asks whether this year's top 3 Miss Universe Singapore winners 'considered pretty'

amierul@asiaone.com

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