Miss America 2020 is coming to the Lehigh Valley and she’s looking for talent

Miss America 2020 is coming to the Lehigh Valley and she’s looking for talent
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Miss America 2020
Camille Schrier, of Virginia, waves to the audience prior to winning the Miss America competition at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn., Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)AP

By Nick Falsone | For lehighvalleylive.com

Camille Schrier doesn’t fit the stereotype of a beauty queen.

When the Bucks County native competed in the talent portion of the Miss America pageant last month, she conducted a chemistry experiment while most of the other candidates opted to showcase the more traditional talents of song, dance and baton twirling. Her distinctiveness paid off, and Schrier was crowned Miss America 2020 at the conclusion of the pageant.

Schrier, previously Miss Virginia, holds dual bachelor’s degrees in biochemistry and systems biology from Virginia Tech. She’s an advocate for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. An event she’ll be attending in March in the Lehigh Valley fits right in with that advocacy.

Schrier will be participating in a panel discussion as part of the 2020 Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Forum presented by Sanofi. Da Vinci Science Center is hosting the panel discussion, which is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 18 at The Center at Holiday Inn in Breinigsville. It is free and open to the public. Doors to the venue will open at 7 p.m. Admission is on a first come, first served basis. Space is limited.

Distinguished female leaders in STEM will join Schrier on the panel to discuss different perspectives women bring to these industries and challenges they face when pursuing a career in male-dominated fields, Da Vinci Science Center says in a news release announcing the event. After opening remarks, panelists will each offer comments before inviting the audience members to ask questions.

The WISE Forum is now in its sixth year. Its goal, per the news release, is to inspire female students to expand their career aspirations and exposes high school and college students to strong role models who have pursued leadership opportunities in different STEM industries.

Those female students who take the initiative will be given an extra dose of inspiration before the March 18 panel discussion.

“Female high school students from Pennsylvania and New Jersey are invited to apply to attend the free WISE Forum Mentoring Dinner, taking place before the panel discussion,” the news release says. “Selected applicants will have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with and receive advice from the panelists and other female professionals in STEM fields. Applications are due by Jan. 31 and can be submitted online at davincisciencecenter.org.”

In addition to Schrier, there will be some big names in the STEM field participating. They include: Jill Evans, Manager, Customer Service, Bosch Rexroth; Kisha Hortman Hawthorne, Ph.D., FACHE, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP); Tatyana Kaverina, Staff Engineer, Stryker; Lisa J. Scheller, President & CEO, Silberline Manufacturing Co., Inc.; Nancy Wang, Head of Product Management, Amazon Web Services Data Protection; CEO & Co-Founder, Advancing Women in Product; and Rosalind Hollingsworth, Associate VP, Global Affairs, Sanofi.

Hollingsworth will moderate the panel discussion.

https://www.lehighvalleylive.com/news/2020/01/miss-america-2020-is-coming-to-the-lehigh-valley-and-shes-looking-for-talent.html