Miss USA 2019: Meet Miss Pa., Camp Hill’s Kailyn Marie Perez

Apr 22, 2019

Kailyn Marie Perez is Miss Pennsylvania USA. She competes in the Miss USA competition on May 2, 2019 in Nevada. Photo provided by Kailyn Marie Perez.

By Julia Hatmaker | jhatmaker@pennlive.com

A career-ending injury became a source of inspiration for Kailyn Marie Perez.

She had dreamt of being a ballerina for decades, studying at the New York City Ballet and dancing professionally for a year. Then, at 19, she was injured and her dancing career was over.

“It was super devastating for me,” she said.

But it wasn’t the end of her story. Perez went to law school and, after being approached by a talent scout, began entering into pageants. Now, she’s Miss Pennsylvania USA and gearing up to compete in the Miss USA competition in Reno, Nevada on May 2. The pageant airs at 8 p.m. that night on Fox. If she wins, she’ll go on to compete in the Miss Universe competition. 

For her, pageants are all about elevating platforms for community service. They give her an opportunity to share her message: that adversity can lead to opportunity.

“Going through that injury I learned that we only have so much control in our lives,” she said. “It’s important to work hard and work to a goal, but sometimes things happen. It really helped me learn about the strength I have in myself, to look on the inside and find what else I’m passionate about.

“To anyone who faces obstacles, I want them to know their strength and know their resilience and that if they have a good heart and they work hard, they can overcome and do great things in their lives not just for themselves but for others,” she said.

Perez competed in a variety of competitions in her native Florida, before moving to Camp Hill, Pennsylvania in 2018. That’s when she decided to enter into the state’s Miss USA pageant. At 27, this is the last year she can compete.

Winning Miss Pennsylvania USA took her by surprise.

“If you watch my crowning video, I’m in a state of shock,” she said. “It felt like it was an out-of-body experience. I dreamt of this happening -- but when it actually happens to you, it’s like ‘is this real life?’” 

Perez knows pageants get a bad rap, but she encourages the naysayers to watch the Miss USA competition and develop their own opinions.

Beauty is a factor, but it isn’t the only focus, she said.

“What’s more important is that these judges are looking for someone who is confidently beautiful, someone who is an inspiration for women to come and someone who is giving back to their community,” she said.

“These are women of substance,” she continued. “Many of them have faced their own struggles or their own insecurities. They’ve gone through their own past and found that confidence to pursue their passions...

“It really comes down to who they think can be a good role model,” she concluded.

Part of the pageant appeal for Perez is the work that goes into it. It’s more than just working out and watching your diet (although that is a large part of it).

“The preparation is really multifaceted,” Perez said. ‘It’s actually pretty intense.”

Perez has to stay on top of current events and learn enough about the issues to develop opinions on the best way to address problems facing society.

The questions asked in the interview section can range from the intensely personal (last year, Miss Nebraska was asked “Tell me about a time when you felt unworthy and how you overcame it.”) to contentious (last year, Miss South Dakota was asked “The Boy Scouts recently decided to accept girls into their organization. Do you feel this is a positive change, and do you think that there is value in single-gender organizations?”).

“You have to really know yourself,” Perez said, referring to preparation for the interview. “That sounds weird and crazy, but to be able to tell people how you describe yourself and what you want to do with your life -- sometimes those answers aren’t on the tip of your tongue.”

That emphasis on knowing yourself and knowing what you care about is one of the reasons Perez loves competing in pageants.

“Pageants make you your best self,” she said. “You have to dive in and know yourself, know what you’re passionate about and set goals to attain those passions. It’s a lot of preparation and you just grow so much in the process.”

That being said, she’s most excited for the interview portion. Her law school background helps with that. “I love to speak in public, so I love when I get a question on stage that’s challenging and I get to explain my opinion on something that’s relevant to our world.”

Pageants and her role as Miss Pennsylvania USA have helped Perez get the word out about an issue near and dear to her, getting more women involved in politics. She works with a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization called Running Start, which is devoted to training young women for political office, providing them the confidence and experience they need to serve.

She’s already met with legislators in Harrisburg and talked with them about Running Start, going so far as to sign up a few to become mentors for women in the program.

Perez herself has been involved in politics at a young age, serving in her student government from 5th grade on. “I’ve always wanted to lead and be involved,” she said. “I think that came from being a first generation America.

“My family emigrated here from Cuba, where they came from a really oppressive government where they didn’t have rights and freedoms and couldn’t be involved in their government,” she continued. Because of that, Perez doesn’t take for granted the benefits of being an American.

“I’m always thankful to live in this country,” she said. “I’ve always been interested in politics and democracy and how our government works.”

As for whether she plans on pursuing political office in the future, Perez says she isn’t quite sure yet. Next on her list, after her pageant reign ends, is to pass her bar exam. Then, well, she’ll see.

But for now, she’s focusing on the upcoming pageant.

“The opportunity to be Miss USA is one in a lifetime,” she said. “She’s a woman of substance who is truly trying to make the world better -- and that’s the kind of person I’m trying to be in my life.”

The Miss USA competition airs at 8 p.m. on May 2 on Fox. Learn more about Miss USA at missuniverse.com/missusa.

https://www.pennlive.com/life/2019/04/miss-usa-2019-meet-miss-pa-camp-hills-kailyn-marie-perez.html