Maliyah Chance aspired to be a musician as a young girl.
But she soon found herself in the world of pageantry and modelling.
Her aspirations have led her to advocate for youth to build confidence and resilience.
Early life and growing up
Chance was born in St. Catharines, Ont., and at age 3, her parents decided to move to Calgary, where they now reside.
As a little girl, Chance was surrounded by very supportive parents who played active roles in her life. Her mother was a stay-at-home mom, and her father was the breadwinner.
She was brought up with an authentic sense of creativity and confidence.
After graduating from high school at just 17, Chance enrolled in a skincare program at Del Mar College.
As a young woman, Chance had her own struggles with confidence and cystic acne, but after changing her personal habits to improve her skin, she adopted a new outlook.
“There’s only so much that you can do. And same as life, there’s always going to be something, and it’s just how you react to it,” she said.
Music, pageantry, and modelling
Music was always a big part of Chance’s life since she was 14.
Since then, she’s performed at cafes, open mics, posted covers, and taken on gigs.
She also secured a recording manager and a ghostwriter who wrote her a few pieces before flying to North Carolina to record.
During her time as an independent recording artist, Chance decided to join the International Modelling & Talent Association (IMTA) convention in New York, hoping to expand her artistry into the entertainment world.
To participate, you have to pick two disciplines to compete in – singing, acting or modelling. “I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to act, so I guess I’ll try modelling,’” she said.
While in New York, Chance was scouted by two recording studios and a modelling agency.
Although she enjoyed her time recording music, Chance wanted to try something new. That’s when her mother pitched the idea of getting into pageantry.
“I thought that pageantry was like, ‘You need to be super girly, it’s crowns and tiaras this and that,’ which is what I initially thought. But again, you know what, I’ll just try it out,” said Chance.
With a leap of faith, Chance entered the Miss Teenage Alberta 2018 competition.
“I was asked this in my interview question for nationals: ‘Who is your biggest competitor?’ and I always say the biggest competitor is yourself. You’re always trying to show up as the best person that you can be the next day, every day, like one per cent better,” she said.
Allyxandria Edmonds met Chance eight years ago during the Miss Teenage Alberta competition. Both girls met while participating in the pageant and have remained close friends since.
“Maliyah just had a good, authentic, kind of goofy energy. And I think that’s what really connected the two of us,” Edmonds described.
Ever since, Edmonds has always been a supportive friend of Chance through it all.
“I’m so proud of her. I love watching her pageants. It’s really cool to think back to when we were teenagers doing it and how she’s evolved in the world of pageantry as an adult,” expressed Edmonds.
Chance won the title of Miss Teenage Alberta 2018, and even years later, she claimed the crown as the current titleholder for Miss Alberta 2025.
“The most important thing that I took from that was, the best person you can be is yourself,” Chance said. “Sometimes it really just is your personality that shines through the most.”
In addition to winning titles, Chance also spent a lot of time as a freelance model, appearing on two international magazine covers.
“If there’s something I’ve learned through doing entertainment or being in creative spaces, it’s about who you know and building relationships with them,” she says. “I’ve met amazing people and photographers who have bright ideas. They can be a light to help propel you forward.”
Her mission for youth empowerment
The lessons she’s learned from pageantry have also influenced Chance’s advocacy for youth empowerment and volunteer work. Including Grant Bartlett, a life mentor who mentored Chance while she did pageantry.
“If you come to an impediment, you can go over it, you can go around it, you can go under it, and you can go through it, but you never give up,” Bartlett states.
Among the dozens of former students Bartlett has mentored, Chance has always been a diamond in the rough.
“She’s committed to everything. To the community, to the children, to the elderly, to be a better person. She’s a committed young lady, and it’s a tremendous honour to be involved with someone like that,” Bartlett expressed.
Chance dedicates some of her time to volunteering with Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Canada Homestay Network, both organizations that help youth.
Investing time and effort in all of this is important to Chance because she believes that youth is our future – the next generation of doctors, lawyers and political figures.
“A big part of why I wanted to mentor was because I had so much support when I was a kid. Love is the foundation for everyone, and unfortunately, I feel like not a lot of kids experience that,” she says. “If we’re not pouring our hearts and investing into them, who knows what the world will look like?” Chance asked.
Current life and career
In the meantime, Chance is a skin technician working at the XO Treatment Room, where she specializes in advanced facials.
“The one thing with being a technician is that you have to continually advance your learning. I may be in the same room, but everyone’s skin is so different. So it’s always like a science project,” she says.
Her main focus right now is her advocacy, continued mentorship, and serving as an active voice of empowerment for more young people.
Chance believes that becoming a voice of empowerment starts with taking risks and recognizing the possibilities you can create for yourself.
“Everyone fails, and you shouldn’t be discouraged from your failures because you just keep getting better and you learn more about yourself and what you want to do. The more that you fail, you keep falling forward, so just go for it and try everything out,” She says.
As she continues working as a multidisciplinary creative, Chance is excited to see what new opportunities will come with her ongoing project for youth empowerment – believing that in order to make a dream happen, you have to put it into action.