MPS senior crowned Miss Hmong Wisconsin Teen 2024

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- One local high schooler is excited to use her new title to share her culture with the world.

"Then they said my name, and 'I'm like, oh my god, I won!'" Emily Duab Ci Yang said.

The 17-year-old Rufus King High School senior tells CBS 58 she was frozen for a split second before she realized her name was called as the winner of Miss Hmong Wisconsin Teen 2024. Though she had never done the glitz and glam of a pageant herself before this win, she knew participating in a competition like this could open doors for her and the causes she supports.

"The bigger picture was whatever happened during this pageant, I would have a voice and a platform," Yang said.

It was just last weekend during the National Hmong Labor Day Festival in Oshkosh that she won, a triumph she calls a group effort given her last-minute decision to participate in the pageant.

"I had a little bit less than two months to get the outfits, to get my hair, to get the makeup, to get everything ready, and it was definitely hard for me, and I had such a great team and trainers that took the time to be patient with me and really put everything into me so I could be here," she said.

She now wears her silver crown that glistens in the sun proudly after winning the judges over by telling them about her experience helping others as a youth leader at a local non-profit and her desire to share her heritage with the world.

"It definitely is hard when people don't know what Hmong is, and with my title, I really hope to be the one who educates others," she explained. "Not that many people consider us, but we are indigenous. I really think that is what I want to do. Preserve our culture. I want to preserve our traditions."

Yang won a $ 2,000 scholarship when she was crowned and will work on various community projects and volunteer during her reign.

"I am hoping to not only help the Hmong community but also expand and help other communities in Milwaukee and Wisconsin specifically," she said.

Another big focus for her is being a representative for the Hmong people and inviting everyone to learn more about the ethnic group through her or by visiting local events.

"I want people to look at me and be like, 'yeah, she is Miss Hmong Wisconsin Teen 2024' and know what Hmong is," she said.