Emma Broyles, an Anchorage resident and Arizona State University pre-med student, has won the title of Miss America.
As a 15-year-old in 2017, Emma started competing in her hometown of Anchorage, winning Miss Anchorage’s Outstanding Teen in the first-ever competition she entered.
Broyles took a break from competitions and began college in Arizona, where she has studied biomedical sciences and voice performance in the honors college. Her career goal is to become a doctor specializing in dermatology.
Earlier this week, she won in the preliminaries for her social impact pitch about the power of Special Olympics.
The 100th Miss America Pageant was held at Mohegan Sun Arena at a casino in Uncasville, Connecticut on Thursday evening.
Broyles is the first Alaska woman to win the competition, and she was crowned Miss America 2022. The 2021 competition was canceled due to Covid-19.
The Miss America Pageant is a college scholarship program. The annual competition is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. It began in 1921 as a bathing suit contest but has evolved into a competition more focused on the whole person, including accomplishments.
Broyles won the centennial crown and a $100,000 college scholarship.
Gov. Mike Dunleavy was among the first to congratulate her from Alaska, writing, “Congratulations to Miss Alaska Emma Broyles who has been crowned Miss America in the competition’s 100th annual event! Your home state is proud of you, Emma! This is the first time Alaska has won the title — what an accomplishment.”
Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka also sent a tweet within minutes, writing, “Congratulations Miss Alaska, Emma Broyles, on winning Miss America in its 100th year of competition! We have so much potential in our State, it’s great to see Alaska leading the nation.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan wrote, “A big congrats to Emma Broyles, of Anchorage, the first Alaskan ever named #MissAmerica! Emma is studying biomedicine at @ASU, and her charity in the competition is @SpecialOlympics, an awesome organization near & dear to my whole family. Way to go, Emma! We’re so proud of you!”
The pageant final night has in the past been on ABC on primetime network TV, but this year was available via live-streaming only on NBC’s Peacock service.
