Umatilla native Clarissa Bowers wins Miss World USA crown

Clarissa Bowers, right, is pictured on stage at Miss World USA 2017 with Miss Teen World USA 2017 Gracen Grainger at the Linda Chaplin Theatre in Orlando on Aug. 13. [INSTAGRAM]

By Carlos E. Medina / carlos.medina@dailycommercial.com Posted Aug 24, 2017 at 4:25 PM

ORLANDO — Clarissa Bowers came home to win Miss World USA.

The Umatilla native won the crown in Orlando recently. With the title, she goes on to represent the U.S. at the Miss World pageant in Sanya, China. The final is set for Nov. 18.

“I am overwhelmed with joy,” Bowers said in a prepared statement.

Bowers graduated from Umatilla High School and earned an associate’s degree from Lake-Sumter Community College. A volleyball player, she transferred to Vanderbilt University in Tennessee where she studies neuroscience. She hopes to become a surgeon.

Contestants from more than 120 countries compete in Miss World.

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