Filipina places 3rd in the Miss Asian America Pageant 2014

The 10 Finalists with Miss America 2013 1st Runner-up Crystal Lee ​(middle in pink)​

Fil-Am Georgetown University fresh graduate Arienne Calingo finished third in the recently held Miss Asian America 2014 pageant last Saturday, August 2, 2014, at the historical Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California. Among 27 Asian-American women representing their ethnicities and localities, four were representing the Filipino community. Although still outnumbered by their Chinese contemporaries, other avid spectators mentioned that the number of Filipinas in the pageant is emerging. Calingo, the only Filipina in the Top 10 Finalists bagged the Miss Asian California. She was bested only by Miss Asian America Jennifer Chung (Vietnamese-Chinese), and Stanford undergrad Emma Marriott (Chinese-Welsh) who was crowned Miss Asian Global.

Marriott’s and Calingo’s individual pageant platforms were both related to women empowerment. However, Calingo emphasized on political leadership of Asian American women, and Marriott, on the other note, gave focus on “STEM” or Science and Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. It is explicable since Calingo is a Foreign Service graduate while Marriott is currently studying Computer Science, as mentioned during the program.

(L-R) May Ling Phiu Miss Asian San Francisco & Miss Scholastic Achievement ​, Arienne Calingo Miss Asian California ​, ​​ ​Emma Marriott Miss Asian Global & Miss Talent

Arienne Calingo Miss Asian California

Apart from the individual pageant platform which each contestant was to explain concisely, each was asked a specific question. Calingo was asked whether she would want to be in a reality television show. She answered that joining a reality television show would help her maximize the opportunities to promote her platform on Asian American women empowerment.

Other Filipina finalists were Nikki Navio of Anchorage (AK), Richelle Gali of San Jose (CA), and Claireace Bennett of San Francisco (CA). Prior to winning Miss Asian America, Calingo also bagged the 1st Runner-Up crown in last year’s Binibining Pilipinas USA held in Los Angeles (CA).

The Miss Asian America suffered a setback when it was not able to hold a competition for the pageant year 2013 but has made a comeback this year with a change in leadership. Included in the program was the symbolic transfer of Miss Asian America’s presidency from its founder Rose Chung to Vincent Ma.

​(L-R) Dulce Dizon Power ng Pinoy PR Director; Rose Chung, Miss Asian America Founder and former President, Arienne Calingo, Miss Asian California; Gemeline Braga-Calino, Arienne’s Mother; Luis Calingo, Arienne’s Father

The pageant was hosted by Steve Cho and Miss America 2013 1st Runner-up Crystal Lee.

Here is the List of Miss Asian America 2014 Winners:

• Miss Asian Global & Miss Talent: Emma Marriott (Chinese)
• Miss Asian America & Miss Women’s Empowerment: Jennifer Chung (Vietnamese/Chinese)
• Miss Asian California: Arienne Calingo (Filipino)
• Miss Asian San Francisco & Miss Scholastic Achievement: May Ling Phyu (Burmese)
• Miss Asian Teen & Miss Scholastic Achievement: Maggie Schoenholtz (Thai)
• Miss Asian First Princess: Catherine Ho (Chinese)
• Miss Asian Second Princess & Miss Congeniality: Jeni Nguyen (Vietnamese)
• Miss Asian Third Princess & Miss People’s Choice: Sunaina Singh (Indian)
• Miss Photogenic: Susan Lin (Chinese)
• Best in Ethnic Attire: Tunya Fusapnirun (Thai)
• Miss Women’s Empowerment & Miss Entrepreneur – Jensine Chen (Chinese)
• Miss Community Service – Elaine Sung (Singaporean)
• Miss Community Service – Catherine Ho (Chinese)

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