A talented and dedicated young leader crowned Miss Teen Nigeria UK is continuing to use her influence and life experiences to help and inspire other young people in the UK and other countries.
Angel Akpovi, aged 18, won the title of Miss Teen Nigeria UK after competing in the cultural pageant in 2023.
She has used her platform to represent and become an inspiring role model for young Nigerian girls and campaign on issues like knife crime and literacy – including playing a leading role in two successful book drives which have seen more than 400 books being donated to the charity Books2Africa UK.
These books will be going to schools in African countries to help improve literacy rates.
Now Angel is celebrating another distinguished honour to add to her collection after scooping this year’s Youth Impact award – part of our prestigious annual Live Our Best Life Awards 2025 event which shines a light on the achievements of outstanding young people across Nottinghamshire.
Angel, who attends Bilborough College, is a motivated advocate for youth empowerment and social change, with a diverse array of experiences in leadership, activism, and community engagement.
As Student President at the college, she represents hundreds of students, advocating for their needs and fostering a positive student culture.
Her leadership stretches nationally – she’s a youth steering group member for the Fair Education Alliance – a coalition of hundreds of organisations tackling educational inequality – and is also a dedicated member of other organisations including the Nottinghamshire Youth Commission – which gives young people a stronger voice to raise police and crime issues.
Her other talents and passions include literature, particularly writing poetry, and using her skilfully crafted work to help and inspire others through the various volunteering positions she holds.
Angel, who is also a member of the Nottinghamshire Youth Literacy Board, has won awards for her poetry and was previously mentored by Coventry’s Poet Laureate, John Bernard.
Speaking about her Youth Impact Award, Angel said: “It feels really great to win this award. Being nominated means someone has seen what I’m doing and has been impacted positively and that’s really motivating for me.
“One of the things that I’m really passionate about is being able to help other people.
“Just the fact that ‘little me’ in Nottingham can make a positive impact on people in different countries who don’t know me and they can be really inspired by the work I’m doing.”
Angel added: “Competing in Miss Teen Nigeria UK was so exciting and it gave me a chance to learn about my own culture.
“Winning the pageant was amazing and since then I’ve had the opportunity to go to events in the UK and talk to politicians and people who are also into advocacy and activism as well as connecting with the African diaspora community.
“As Student President at my college I am essentially the bridge between the senior leadership team and the students.
“I represent the student voice and my role involves a lot of talking to students about how they’re feeling about different things going on in the college and finding out what they want to see in future months.
“It’s also about being a bridge with the community and trying to see what initiatives and engagements we can do as students to work with and help our local community. That work includes working with local charities as well as global charities.”
Following her Youth Impact award success, yet more exciting times are ahead for Angel after her college helped her secure a scholarship at an American university which she is due to attend this summer.
She said: “I’m really excited about moving to the United States, learning more about how different it is there as well as learning more about myself.”
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