{"id":217863,"date":"2025-06-24T16:40:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T02:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=217863"},"modified":"2025-06-24T16:40:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T02:40:10","slug":"uh-west-oahu-alumna-miss-hawaii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/06\/24\/uh-west-oahu-alumna-miss-hawaii\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> West O\u02bbahu alumna crowned Miss Hawai\u02bbi"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Dalire
Emalia Dalire, Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 2025 (Credit: Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Organization via Instagram and @50statestaco)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pageant title of Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 2025 was bestowed on University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>–West Oʻahu<\/span> alumna Emalia Dalire, who graduated in fall 2024 with a bachelor of arts in business administration<\/a> with a concentration in marketing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Dalire
Dalire at the fall 2024 UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> commencement<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Kāneʻohe<\/span> resident, 19, was crowned on May 31 at Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Theatre by the Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Organization<\/a>, which provides women with the opportunity to promote platforms of community service, share their talents, intelligence, and positive values while serving as role models in our island communities, according to the organization\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

“Being crowned Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> 2025 is an indescribable honor and a dream come true,” Dalire said in an interview with Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> News Now<\/a> the morning after being crowned. “I feel overwhelmed with gratitude, knowing I get to represent the beauty, culture and mana (power) of our islands. This moment is not just mine. It belongs to every person who believed in me.”<\/p>\n

Dalire competed as Miss Kāneʻohe<\/span> and topped 12 other competitors, called “delegates,” and will move on to represent the state at the Miss America competition in September in Orlando, Fla.<\/p>\n

\"Dalire
Dalire at Merrie Monarch. Her grandmother Aloha Dalire, made history as the first Miss Hula in 1971.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hula lineage<\/h2>\n

It may come as no surprise that the talent Dalire showcased at the Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> competition was hula. She just competed and placed third in the Miss Aloha Hula<\/a> category at the 62nd Merrie Monarch Festival<\/a> held in April in Hilo. Dalire dances for Keolalaulani H\u0101lau ʻ\u014clapa O Laka under N\u0101 Kumu Keolalaulani Dalire (her mother) and Regina Mākaʻikaʻi<\/span> Igarashi Pascua.<\/p>\n

Keep empowering yourself<\/h2>\n
\"Miss
Dalire was crowned Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Teen Volunteer 2024 (Image courtesy of Mark Salondaka)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The community service initiative that Dalire will focus on throughout her upcoming Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> reign is, “K.E.Y. to Life: Keep Empowering Yourself.” It\u2019s a platform she holds close to her heart and the same one she promoted when she was crowned Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Teen Volunteer 2024<\/a> in December 2023.<\/p>\n

“’The K.E.Y. to Life: Keep Empowering Yourself’ is my message of empowerment to all youth, especially Indigenous people, to be who they are,” Dalire had said in a previous article after winning her Miss Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Teen Volunteer title. “In the words of my mother, ‘The best person in life to be like is yourself,’ and learning about my Hawaiian culture and being proud of my Indigenous heritage, I gained the confidence and determination necessary to create my future, my story.”<\/p>\n

Accelerated academic journey<\/h2>\n

As a freshman at Damien Memorial School, Dalire began attending Windward Community College, simultaneously taking high school and early college classes. The dual enrollment enabled her to graduate a year early from high school in 2022 at the age of 16, then in December of that year, receive two associate degrees from Windward CC<\/abbr> in liberal arts and Hawaiian studies along with three certificates of completion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emalia Dalire graduated from UH<\/abbr> West Oʻahu<\/span> with a bachelor of arts in business administration with a concentration in marketing.<\/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":[498,1047,1041,774,660,59,66],"class_list":["post-217863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-business","tag-early-college","tag-hula","tag-marketing","tag-student-recognition","tag-uh-west-oahu","tag-windward-community-college","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