{"id":208449,"date":"2024-12-23T11:37:26","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T21:37:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=208449"},"modified":"2024-12-23T11:37:51","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T21:37:51","slug":"uh-grad-miss-asia-usa-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/23\/uh-grad-miss-asia-usa-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa grad makes history with Miss Asia USA<\/abbr> crown"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Emily Smith (Photo credit: Virgelia Productions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa alumna is believed to be the first person from Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to win a title at the Miss Asia USA<\/abbr> pageant in its 36-year run.<\/p>\n

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Emily Smith, who graduated summa cum laude from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa in 2022 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in communication<\/a> in the College of Social Sciences<\/a>, was crowned Miss Asia USA<\/abbr> America 2025 on November 16 at the Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center in California. Smith, who is half Japanese and half Welsh, represented Japan in the cultural pageant. Her national costume included a kimono designed by Sueko Oshimoto, who worked on the Emmy-awarded project Shogun<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“It shows that no matter where you\u2019re from, even if you\u2019re from a small town and you don’t have as many pageant resources in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, as long as you work hard and you have a good team of people and you practice hard, you can achieve your dreams,” Smith said.<\/p>\n

Smith entered UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa at age 16 after graduating early from Hoʻ\u0101la<\/span> School in Wahiaw\u0101. Despite having some of her college years disrupted by COVID-19, she credits her university experience with teaching her valuable lessons about teamwork.<\/p>\n

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(Photo credit: Virgelia Productions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

“I love how UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa really emphasizes teamwork, even during COVID, when we were having Zoom classes,” Smith said. “The fact that teachers were still emphasizing and putting importance on working with your peers really taught me the importance of having a good team.”<\/p>\n

After earning her master\u2019s degree in communication management from USC<\/abbr> in 2023, Smith transitioned from her role as a digital media specialist at Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Magazine<\/em> to focus full-time on her pageant coaching business, Elevated Pageant Coaching.<\/p>\n

“We really don’t have the same resources as maybe girls in California or Texas have when it comes to pageantry,” Smith said. “I want our girls in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> to not only feel prepared when they\u2019re joining pageants, but also have the same resources to grow themselves, to grow their confidence, to have good interview skills, to learn how to walk with grace.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Smith credits her university experience with teaching her valuable lessons about teamwork.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[679,301,661,1466,741,1026,9,1626],"class_list":["post-208449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-college-of-social-sciences","tag-communications","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-school-of-communications","tag-social-science","tag-uh-manoa","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t