Aggie Makes Final 10 in Miss America Competition
UC Davis senior Nina Forest, competing as Miss Idaho for the Miss America title, finished in the pageant’s top 10 on Sunday.
“Words can’t describe how honored I am to have made top 10 at Miss America!” Forest said in a post on Facebook and Instagram. “Never in a million years did I dream to represent Idaho on national television and share my passions and talent.”
This year’s Miss America competition, dubbed Miss America 2.0, dropped the swimsuit competition, replacing it with onstage interviews to give contestants more time to talk about their achievements and goals.
An aspiring civil rights attorney who is majoring in international relations and minoring in Chinese, Forest promoted her “Leave Childhood Hunger Behind” platform, focused on decreasing food insecurity in Idaho. She also performed “Rhapsody Brilliant” by Melody Bober on the piano in the talent portion.
Forest was crowned in June as Miss Idaho 2018. Her title comes with a $10,000 scholarship for her college education among other prizes.
Forest moved to Idaho with her family when she was in fourth grade. She is a first-generation American — her mother is from China and her father from England.
She is taking this year off from her UC Davis studies to serve as Miss Idaho.
Miss New York Nia Imani Franklin was named Miss America 2019 in the contest, which was broadcast live from Atlantic City, New Jersey.
— Kathleen Holder, content strategist in the UC Davis College of Letters and Science