Ki’ilani Arruda of Kauai, Hawaii, was crowned Miss Teen USA on Saturday, becoming the second Hawaiian to win the annual competition.
The competition — originally scheduled for the spring but postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic — took place Saturday at Elvis Presley’s Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee, and was shown live on the Miss USA Facebook bladsy.
Miss Teen USA 2005 Allie LaForce and Miss USA 2019 Cheslie Kryst hosted the show. A panel of former Miss Universe Organization winners as well as TikTok star Sara Echeagaray chose the winner.
Teens from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia competed for the crown.
Arruda, 18, is a freshman at the University of Puget Sound studying molecular and cellular biology and hopes to become a dermatologist, Volgens Miss Hawaii USA’s website. It was her younger brother’s autism diagnosis that inspired her to advocate for autism awareness.
The last person from Hawaii to win Miss Teen USA was Kelly Hu in 1985, Volgens CNN affiliate KHON.
