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THINKING BIG
My dad was a Scottish football trailblazer now I want to be Miss Great Britain then have career as a human rights lawyer
She's so proud of everything her dad has achieved - and the obstacles he's overcome
KEVIN HARPER once strutted his stuff on some of the biggest stages which football on these shores has to offer.
Now it's the former Hibs star's daughter Millie Kelly-Harper who is bidding to walk the walk - and talk the talk - after being accepted as a finalist for
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That's in addition to her studies at City of Glasgow College - where she has her sights set on a law degree and a future career as a human rights lawyer.
And all this without mentioning her shifts at the Nked beauty studio and training academy in Kirkintilloch Main Street which she helps run with mum Helaine and big sister Lucie.
Plenty on her plate, then, but - like her father - Millie isn't the type to shy away from a challenge.
For those who don't recall this bustling little striker, Harper burst on the scene as a 17-year-old at Easter Road, winning Scotland Under-21 honours then earning a big move south of the border.
His spell at Derby saw him bag a winning goal against Liverpool in front of the Kop.
He then returned to the English top flight as part of a star-studded Portsmouth team under Harry Redknapp which included the likes of Peter Crouch, Robert Prosinecki, Mark Burchill, Eddie Howe, Richard Hughes and a young Gary O'Neill.
But he claimed to have been on the receiving end of racial abuse from seasoned pros and from terraces all over Scotland.
Now 48, Harper runs his own coaching academy and does commentary work for Hibs TV - he also has two younger kids Franklin and Pollie - but feels he has been unfairly overlooked for professional management jobs after departing Albion Rovers four years ago.
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It's quite a family backstory - even if Millie is blazing her trail in another field.
She told SunSport: "I'm so proud of my dad and all the things he has had to put up with throughout his career.
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"Things like being racially abused, it is just disgusting.
"I still find it mad that he was the first black man to play for Hibs and that wasn't that long ago. That is wild.
"He really is so passionate about his career, and he struggles to get back into management because of the colour of his skin, it's just disgusting."
Not all human rights lawyers also appear in beauty pageants but Kelly-Harper doesn't see why the two should be mutually exclusive.
For her, appearing in Miss Great Britain Glasgow is a perfect way to get out of her comfort zone and build her confidence up after a period where she was so concerned about the effect social media was having on her that she came off altogether.
The regional final is on July 28 - with the winner progressing to the British final.
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She said: "I'll be honest, a few years ago I came off social media for a little bit for a break, because I found it so difficult just comparing myself to other people.
"It was just making me feel so down.
"So this is actually quite out of my comfort zone, I've really put myself out there doing this.
"I did it more to gain confidence because I feel like for my generation, social media is such a big thing. You can make yourself feel awful about yourself.
"I definitely feel there is a stigma around competing in a beauty pageant.
"But for me there's a lot more to it, it's all about empowering girls of this generation.
"If I can do it, you can do it, that type of thing.
"It's all about confidence. There are so many different age groups in it, different body types, different ethnicities.
"In the final you have an interview with the judges and you give them a speech. They just want to get to know you. They want to know why you want to be a contestant and what you've done during your time being a contestant.
"Then it just goes onto the show with your catwalk.
"You've got three rounds, the judges will give you marks out of ten and whoever has the most marks at the end, that is who is your next Miss Great Britain Glasgow.
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"You actually get the most of your marks from your interview so it's not just who looks the best."
It's one step at a time when it comes to her ambitions to be a human rights lawyer, but she's deadly serious.
"I've definitely got my heart set on being a solicitor. 100%.
"But I'm just your typical girl in this age that I can't get my head out of my phone and my social media.
"I do look at influencers, and look at YouTube and stuff and I do think I would love their lifestyle but I just don't think I could handle it, the feedback can be so toxic.
"I really believe in justice especially when I hear some of the awful things that happen in the world we live in.
"Some of the stuff that goes on is so inhuman.
"I see the way some people can treat people and that's why I want to do human rights for my law. I want to fight for people who have been mistreated.
"I believe in humanity, and that people should always be treated with kindness."
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Dad Kevin couldn't be more proud of his daughter.
He said: "She's studying law so she's got more of both - brains and beauty - than her dad I suppose.
"I'm really really proud of her because I know right through high school she went through a bit of a tough time.
"She's come through and she's just a really lovely person.
"I know most people would say that about their kids but she's got a heart of gold.
"She sees the good in other people and it's maybe a fault of her own at times.
"It's great that she has the want to do it, because she knows there will probably be a backlash about it. To do it takes a lot of courage.
"She knows what I've gone through and she's strong minded so I'm immensely, immensely proud of her and I'm delighted she's got into the final.
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"I take absolutely no credit for it. All the credit goes to her."
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