Ever since I was a child, my mom used to encourage me to dream big with this Chinese phrase, “星星之火，可以燎原,” which means, “A single spark can start a prairie fire.“ This pageant was my spark. I never imagined that I would be able to represent the Chicago community as the 2019 Queen of Miss Chinese Chicago.

When I started my career in Chicago, after graduating from Purdue, I found myself in the precarious position as the sole female Asian American engineer in my department. Daily, I faced challenges as a woman in a male-dominated field and these trials kindled my passion to support and elevate my fellow female hustlers. The voice and visibility that Miss Chinese Chicago gave me in this community sparked my ability to pursuit my platform to empower professional women in our community.

As a contestant, I lead a self-defense workshop with the Society of Women Engineers, helping future female engineers use Chinese martial arts to protect themselves. I also coached a group of young professional women from a variety of industry backgrounds on how to use pageant posture to improve their confidence in their careers—and we had a photoshoot to capture it!

As your Queen, I look forward to making y’all proud by trailblazing as a proud female Asian American engineer and furthering my commitment to promote future female leaders through professional development initiatives in Chicago.

See y’all around,

Your 2019 Miss Chinese Chicago Queen

Pamela Yuan 袁佩恩