Miss Aruba 2025 will be taking place this Sunday at 7pm. Four contestants will try to win the crown to represent our island as a beauty queen on the local and international platform. Aruba Today spoke with Sammie van Pinxteren, one of the contestants, who told us about her inspiration, passion and determination to achieve all her goals.
Sammie, 23, was born and raised in Aruba, and she is a very positive person full of joy and life. She said that she is determined to live life intentionally and do things out of her comfort zone. Her decision to take part in Miss Aruba was motivated on her desire to share her story and bring positive change to Aruba. After studying in the Netherlands, she missed Aruba, its people, and decided to come back to her island and help people prosper.
Sammie has been modelling for many years, and she said that everything started when she was only 7 years old and went on a cruise. “There were a lot of photographers around the cruise, and a man told me ‘go do modelling.’ I was very young still, y just laughed. But one thing led to another, and in the end I went to work with [Aruban designer] Ronchi [de Cuba], y went to Art Fashion, y did a lot of modelling, also in America. And it is a passion of mine. When I went to the Netherlands, I sort of let it go, but when I came back to Aruba I missed it and wanted to continue.” Sammie brings another perspective, one more creative, to her modelling, by putting her unique, positive personality into it.
Currently Sammie works in marketing, where with her authentic personality she adds another light to her work. “I want to show that you can be authentic and you don’t always have to do what everyone else does. Be yourself, do things differently and you’ll feel better,” she says.
But she wasn’t always so positive and determined. Sammie told Aruba Today that back during the Covid-19 pandemic, she became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized. After this experience, she had a new appreciation for life. “I feel like I can appreciate things more. I realized that you don’t always get a second chance… Just know that life can end in a moment, because that is what I felt in that moment.” With her story, she wants to help people with their physical and mental health, which is tied to Sustainable Development Goal number 3. “You still see a lot of people in Aruba who are actually suffering in silence. I want to help people feel better, healthier. Especially after the time of Covid, people became more closed off, they don’t want to talk. I want to help them talk because it feels better.
She says that for a while, she also didn’t want to speak of her experience, “but even so, one way or another, I chose to find help and I did it.” And she realized that it is necessary to talk, and after doing it, she became a lot more comfortable and open telling her story. “Now I can truly LIVE. I make sure that every day is full. I talk to people [more deeply]. It fills my heart.”
Regarding her hobbies and passion, Sammie says that she really loves nature: hiking, taking her beloved dog on walks, and going to the beach. “Something that I really love above all is changing things around at home, going to all kinds of stores and putting new vases, new flowers, new things, to just pop life at home. I really love that feeling so much.”
As mentioned, Sammie chose to take part in Miss Aruba to expand her platform and reach more people. She said that if she wins, she wants to go close with the community and help as many people as possible. “I really want to try and be more personal, and really put everything that I have in my life right now aside, and make this a priority.” Sammie doesn’t want to “just be another beauty queen” who does “a little community service here and there.” She wants to help end the taboo that stops people from talking about and finding help for their problems. She said that if she wins Miss Aruba, she will dedicate 100 percent to Miss Aruba and will not do anything else during her reign. “They will have a good queen if they choose me. I know myself, and I will really give 110 percent, full speed,” she says.
About the pageant itself, Sammie says that it will be a “completely different” show. “This year there are only four [contestants]. For the show to be full, it will be a completely different show.”
As a Miss Aruba contestant, there are a lot of girls who will see Sammie and get inspired to go into modelling, beauty and more. Sammie says to these girls: “Live, that’s for sure. Live and do the best with your life. And if you feel like you don’t have the strength to want to do that, find help. Even if it is writing me a message, to someone in the organization, or anyone around you, just a hint that something is happening. Know that the door is open for a good conversation and for help.”
