Crowning Glory

Blessed with an affinity for helping people (especially women) and pets, it’s little wonder why Emily Smith is the proud holder of this year’s Miss Asia USA – America title. | Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo

It was a decade ago when Emily Smith entered her very first pageant and found herself crying.

“I was really afraid of being in front of people and really afraid of being on stage,” recalls the Mililani resident, who was just 13 years old at the time. “My mom forced me into pageants … I really didn’t want to do it, but being an only child and then also going to a really small private school … it was a great way for me to meet new people, grow my confidence and make new friends.”

Now 22, and the reigning Miss Asia USA – America 2025, Smith has not only grown to love pageants, but she’s also started a pageant coaching business, Elevated Pageant Coaching.

“I help people with their interview skills, their walking and posing, wardrobe consultations, and just overall helping them with their confidence on and off stage,” she says. “I think especially as you start getting out of school, which is the age that I’m at right now and the age of a lot of girls that I coach, you start to lose your sense of goals and a timeline.

“I feel like pageants are a great way to have those goals but continue to grow yourself and your confidence because it constantly takes you outside of your comfort zone.”

Born in Okayama, Japan, where she lived for about four years before moving to Malaysia for another four years and then settling in Hawai‘i, Smith attended Ho‘āla School in Wahiawā. She later went to University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where she earned a degree in communications, and eventually landed at University of Southern California, where she obtained her master’s in communication management.

“My mom really loved the culture here, especially being from Japan, we knew we wanted to move abroad to a different country but we still wanted a place that had strong Japanese roots,” says Smith when explaining what brought her family to Hawai‘i. “The culture here is very similar to the culture in Japan — the food, the people and the diversity.”

For Miss Asia USA – America, Smith chose to honor her Japanese heritage in the national costume phase of the competition, wearing an innovative kimono dress designed by renowned costume designer and certified kimono specialist Sueko Oshimoto, whose work can be seen on the Emmy-winning show Shogun.

“This was one of the bigger pageants I’ve competed in,” says Smith, who is of Japanese and Welsh ancestries. “One thing I love about this pageant was specifically the cultural attire segment … mine specifically was a kimono that was a skirt and I turned around on stage and pulled the skirt and it turned into a kimono dress so I had a little bit of a transformation there.”

The global beauty pageant, which was held last November in Redondo Beach, California, also included swimsuit and evening gown phases of the competition. And, while contestants aren’t required to participate in a platform, Smith plans to use her title to advocate for women.

“Before this pageant, I had taken a two-year break from pageants, but I felt really motivated by watching my own girls who I was coaching, to step out of my comfort zone and finally do another pageant again,” Smith says. “Everybody has a purpose in life and I really feel as though my purpose in life is helping women … I think it’s important because women are not often in spaces like entrepreneurship or STEM, and a huge part of that comes not because women aren’t able to fill those roles, but because women don’t have the confidence to fill those roles.

“My motto or my philosophy as a pageant coach is not only to give my girls the confidence to compete on stage but to help them grow their confidence and their skills to be able to be the best version of themselves — the best woman that they can be outside of the stage as well, and conquer any challenges or goals that they have outside of pageantry.”

Helping others is nothing new for Smith. In 2018, she was recognized by members of the Hawai‘i Senate for her selection to the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals, for the state of Hawai‘i. It’s the largest youth recognition program in the U.S., and Smith was acknowledged for her work as founder of Lend-a-Paw, a pet-rescue organization that aims to ensure that shelter animals are well-fed and able to live in safe environments.

“We provide goods and services for animals in need,” explains Smith, who has a toy poodle named Hamilton. “I also created a children’s book teaching kids why it is important to be a responsible pet owner and how to take care of animals, and what types of food they can and can’t eat. I also have a book that teaches people and kids how to make dog treats for them to donate to animal shelters. On top of that, we do a lot of donation drives. I always felt a passion toward animals.”

She also supports Aloha Harvest, helping with its food drives since she was in high school, and, as an avid reader, regularly donates her books to the public libraries.
“I love reading — my favorite books were the Harry Potter series,” Smith shares. “I love being able to escape while I’m reading, but now that I’m a pageant coach and now that I’ve been studying and got my master’s degree in communications, I also love different self-help books. I think they really help people identify the flaws about themselves and how they can change those flaws to become a better person.

“My favorite would be How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie.”
Smith notes that Miss Asia USA – America was “ my eighth or ninth pageant” (she’s also held the titles of Miss Hawai‘i Collegiate, Miss Hawai‘i Junior Teen and Miss Asian Global Second Princess), and while she doesn’t have plans to enter another beauty competition, she insists that “(I’d) never say never.” For now, she’s focused on her role as a pageant coach who continues to have a positive impact on people’s lives.

“Even after my reign is done, I’ll still be coaching and volunteering in our community as I have been for years,” says Smith. “It’s not only the title that makes me someone who’s motivated and wants to help our community, it’s who I am as a person.”