Courtney Choy was poised but obviously excited as she did her first interview as Miss Hawaii 2021 Saturday evening in the Hibiscus Ballroom of the Ala Moana Hotel. Competing as Miss Chinatown Hawaii, Choy beat 16 other candidates to become the 76th woman to hold the title of Miss Hawaii. Since there was no Miss Hawaii pageant in 2020, Nikki Kehaulani Holbrook held the title for two years as Miss Hawaii 2019-2020. Choy is the second Miss Hawaii to receive the title under the new rules and procedures in which contestants are called candidates, candidates’ ages are not mentioned and there is no swimsuit/fitness component.

“I was completely surprised,” Choy said as a trio of makeup artists stood by if touch-ups were needed. “I’m graduating law school this semester, and so to balance Miss Hawaii (competition) on top of law school, there were so many times I wanted to give up. But this is why I do it. I want girls to know to never give up, to persevere and to always pursue your dreams.”

She graduated Sunday from the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s William S. Richardson School of Law. She plans to practice in Hawaii.

“I definitely want to go into either women’s rights law or children’s rights, definitely something regarding family and women. I want to use my law degree to empower the next generation of women in our state,” she said. “My heart has always been in Hawaii, and it’s because of Hawaii that I am who I am today. I will always be a servant to this state.”

In addition to winning the title, and the opportunity to represent Hawaii at the 100th Miss America Pageant, Choy won the academic award. The Miss America Pageant will be held in December at the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Conn.

Miss Kailua, Tiffany Johnson, was first runner-up and also received the community service award. The second runner-up spot went to Miss Kona Coffee, Carly Yoshida. Miss Ka‘ohao, Maka‘ala Perry, was third runner-up and winner of the talent award. Fourth runner-up was Miss Chinese Jaycees, Lauren Teruya.

Miss Philippines Hawaii, Rachel Sabio, was voted Miss Congeniality.

The 17 candidates were judged on their ability to stay on subject while answering random questions, their talent and their performance in the “red carpet” segment that replaced the traditional swimsuit/fitness phase amid much controversy in 2018. The questions varied in difficulty. One candidate was asked to name the woman who was the biggest influence in her life; another was asked whether there should be a minimum age for sex-change surgery.

In accordance with current social-distancing protocols, the pageant was conducted with a limited audience of parents, sponsors and guests of the Miss Hawaii organization.

The Miss Hawaii 2021 Competition will be broadcast on KKAI (channels 50/150) on Saturday, Sunday and May 29 and 30.

For more, visit misshawaii.org.