Rotorua beauty queen Riley Roebuck claims her first international title

Rotorua's Riley Roebuck claimed her first international beauty queen title during the Miss Teen Tourism Pageant in the Philippines last month. Photo / Supplied

Riley Roebuck sacrificed her savings for a new car, cashing it in for a plane ticket to the Philippines so she could compete for the title of Miss Teen Tourism Universe.

The 16-year-old won the competition last month and it was still “dawning on her” a week after arriving back in Rotorua.

“I just started crying because I’ve put so much work into this and it’s a big accomplishment, especially for our country - it’s not very common to go overseas [to compete], especially at that level,” Riley said.

Beginning pageantry in 2023, she said coming from a solo-parent household meant she had to “work very hard for what we have achieved”.

She worked “all the time” as a production manager at Escape Masters Rotorua, where she started as an assistant two years ago.

“I’m not from money - I work for everything that I have,” Riley said.

Riley Roebuck, 16, representing Rotorua and New Zealand at the Miss Teen Tourism 2024 contest in the Philippines, where she was crowned the winner. Photo / Supplied

Advocating for Irlen Syndrome, which she was diagnosed with aged 8, Riley explained it was a neurological condition “in which the brain cannot process things visually”.

“My brain processes things two to three times slower than a regular person so it’s got to use up more energy to be able to process things.

“People put it down to ADHD all the time or autism or dyslexia.”

Introduced to pageantry through the Miss Rotorua contest last year, where she came second, since then she’s been crowned queen of Miss Teen Tourism Universe 2024, Miss Teen Tourism NZ 2024, Teen Supermodel NZ 2024, Miss Teen Icon NZ 2024 and Teen Face of Beauty NZ 2025.

Responding to the Miss Teen Tourism slogan “education is the key to success”, for her winning speech Riley chose her own story because Irlen Syndrome “was not well known in New Zealand”.

“I got diagnosed in primary school and there wasn’t much known about it.

“At the time there wasn’t any treatment for the lifelong condition, then early last year I went to another place and got diagnosed for a second time.”

She was prescribed specialised glasses, which drastically improved her quality of life.

“My glasses have five different tints which are all coloured so, for me the way my brain processes it, I see clearly out of them.

“It’s more so my brain can process things – my vision is really good, it’s just my brain has problems processing things and I see things differently to others.

“Especially during studying, the page jumps around a lot.”

Riley said she struggled when she was at Lakes High School with the lack of awareness and available support for Irlen syndrome.

Earlier this year she opted for Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu (Te Kura), the national homeschool system.

Samantha and Riley Roebuck just after she was called as pageant queen winner at Miss Teen Tourism 2024 in the Philippines. Photo / Supplied

Receiving the proper Irlen Syndrome diagnosis

“Even the testing person was like, how did you do your exams when you couldn’t see properly?” Riley said.

Putting up with the long-term misdiagnosis meant battling fatigue because her brain was forced to work triple time.

“When I was in mainstream school, a lot of the times I’d come home with a migraine and just fall asleep.”

Samantha Roebuck, Riley’s mum, said despite the struggle, her daughter still achieved “straight As”.

Because there was no funding available for the condition, one pair of glasses “cost us $1000″, Samantha said.

Riley said the glasses reduced her migraines and she could read “to a point”.

“I don’t generally faint or experience a lot of fatigue, I still get very tired and worn out but the glasses have definitely helped.”

Miss Rotorua pageant a source of sisterhood

Riley said entering Miss Rotorua 2023 was more of an instinct than a choice for her, but she appreciated the support network she had discovered since achieving second runner-up as Miss Teen Rotorua 2023.

Charity work was another passion to come from participating in the pageant, she said.

“I’ve been working with Love Soup Rotorua and the Rotorua Clothing Exchange and I just did an event with the Hub Trust in Rotorua who help put people in housing, as well they provide food for the community.”

She was also involved with fundraising for Kick for a Cause and the NZ Heart Foundation.

Rotorua's Riley Roebuck earns her first international beauty queen title during the Miss Teen Tourism Pageant in the Philippines last month. Photo / Supplied

Diversity was something to celebrate, Riley said.

“Tourism is a thing that brings people together from all around the world and celebrates diversity.

“I think that is such a beautiful thing that we should appreciate in life.”

Having earned the international title, she planned to keep getting involved with local charities.

“I’m not just reigning in New Zealand, I’m reigning in the world. I can’t compete for 12 months until I hand over my title and from then I’ll be in the Miss division.”

Aleyna Martinez is a multimedia journalist based in the Bay of Plenty. She moved to the region in 2024 and has previously reported in Wairarapa and at Pacific Media Network.