A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumna is believed to be the first person from Hawaiʻi to win a title at the Miss Asia USA pageant in its 36-year run.
Emily Smith, who graduated summa cum laude from UH Mānoa in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in communication in the College of Social Sciences, was crowned Miss Asia USA 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.
“It shows that no matter where you’re from, even if you’re from a small town and you don’t have as many pageant resources in Hawaiʻi, 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.
Smith entered UH Mānoa at age 16 after graduating early from Hoʻāla School in Wahiawā. Despite having some of her college years disrupted by COVID-19, she credits her university experience with teaching her valuable lessons about teamwork.
“I love how UH Mānoa 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.”
After earning her master’s degree in communication management from USC in 2023, Smith transitioned from her role as a digital media specialist at Hawaiʻi Magazine to focus full-time on her pageant coaching business, Elevated Pageant Coaching.
“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 Hawaiʻi to not only feel prepared when they’re 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.”
