First Deaf Contestant to win Miss Arizona Global United States

Kissandra Rivera, a deaf woman, was involved with the Miss Arizona Global United States pageant competition. She was the first deaf person to win that competition.

Since she won, this means she will go to Orlando, Florida this summer from July 14 to 18 for the national pageant competition- Miss Global United States. I want to quickly explain the difference. You know Miss America and Miss Universe? It is a separate pageant organization. The Miss Global organization is a new pageant organization and Kissandra was involved with this one. We reached out to Kissandra for an interview related to her experience.

Renca Dunn: Congratulations, you won Miss Arizona Global 2021!

Kissandra Rivera: Yes!

Renca: And the first deaf winner too!

Kissandra: Yes, first deaf winner!

Renca: How are you feeling?

Kissandra: I still feel like I can't believe it, but I'm thankful for this opportunity.

Renca: For sure. So I'm curious, what made you apply for Miss Arizona Global?

Kissandra: Really, I never thought I would get involved. But I did check it out, and I was like, should I? And I just thought it was no big deal. The window for application was going to be closing soon, and my mom said to me, "Why not go ahead and apply? It's worth trying out". I wasn't totally down for it yet, but my mom encouraged me. Little did I realize it would lead me here.

Renca: Wow! So you got into the competition, and how many other women were involved with that?

Kissandra: There were four, and including myself, five.

Renca: Okay, so there were five of you. What kind of activities were there in the pageant? Was there a swimsuit competition, a ballgown segment?

Kissandra: There were three things. There was the swimsuit, the dancing gown, and evening wear.

Renca: Did they have an interview round on stage, where they asked you questions?

Kissandra: No. Really, they held interviews before that day.

Renca: Oh, I see.

Kissandra: But no interviews during.

Renca: I'm curious to ask, I know the other pageant competitors were hearing.

Kissandra: Yes.

Renca: So during all of this, how did you communicate with the other women?

Kissandra: I tried my best to communicate, since I can audibly speak on my own. But on the actual day, I did ask for an interpreter. Really though, I didn't talk that much because I had to focus on myself and do my own thing that day!

Renca: Busy with all of that, for sure. So for the interview, did you have an interpreter then?

Kissandra: Oh yes, of course. I did have an interpreter for the interview.

Renca: So now, you'll be heading to Florida for Miss Global United States, you'll be competing there correct? In Orlando?

Kissandra: Yes.

Renca: Will you have an interpreter there?

Kissandra: Yes, I'll have an interpreter there.

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Renca: I'm curious, what goals do you hope to achieve with your platform?

Kissandra: My platform is for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. What I would like to do with that is maybe establish a place where kids can always feel loved and welcomed, and learn more about their culture. So many children are living with their hearing parents and there's no communication. There's a lack of understanding, so maybe a place like that would have more things for people to learn about, you know?

Renca: So that place, you would want to establish for deaf children? Or for hearing parents that have deaf children?

Kissandra: Mostly, I would like to focus on deaf children. But maybe there could also be an opportunity for parents to learn ASL there too, who knows?

Renca: So do you have your crown from your win? What does it look like?

Kissandra: Yes! I have it with me.

Renca: What does it look like? Oh, wow! It's beautiful!

Kissandra: Thank you!

Renca: Is it heavy? Or not so bad?

Kissandra: No, it's actually pretty light. Easy to wear, not bad!

Renca: If Kissandra wins Miss Global United States, she will proceed to Miss Global International which will be hosted in Indonesia. Kissandra mentioned to us that she needs to fundraise to go to Orlando for the nationals this summer. We included a flyer.

We also posted that flyer in the comments. You can pull out your phone to capture the QR code that will lead you to her fundraising platforms. Kissandra mentioned that any kind of donation would be greatly appreciated as it will help her to go to the nationals pageant competition.

We, the Daily Moth, wish you Kissandra the best of luck!