Once teased for her height, Shauntae Washington is now a role model for tall girls

By Telesha Ramnarine

Shauntae Roneza Imani Washington did not allow the teasing and bullying she endured on account of her height during secondary school to rob her of the confidence she needed to pursue the things that meant the most to her. A successful model today, she continues to use her artistic gifts, hardly setting any limits for herself.

The 25-year-old spoke about the supportive role her mom Sheneza played through all her ordeals and successes in life so far. For one thing, when her schoolmates laughed at her for being too tall, her mom told her that it was perhaps time she started wearing heels.

“I was teased as a teenager in high school because I was really tall; I was the tallest girl in my grade. Graduating in 2015, I remember being really upset at the whole bullying thing. And my mom decided to use that to her advantage. Instead of shying away from it, she made me start wearing heels from my early teens, so instead of having me tucked in and trying to blend in, she made me stand out,” Washington told Stabroek Weekend in an interview recently.