Homecoming queen ranks high

Tiffany Hsiou Her list of awards, participation in student clubs and volunteer activities is so impressive that it comes as no surprise that 18year old Tiffany Hsiou, a 2005 graduate of Westlake High School, is on her way to UCLA in September.

Among her accomplishments, Tiffany was crowned first runnerup in a little-known national competition, America’s Homecoming Queen, on July 19.

The organization is a nonprofit effort that promotes education, travel, and community service among girls who have been chosen homecoming queen at their high school.

Tiffany entered the state homecoming queen competition in March, after prompting from school administrators. She competed against 52 other girls and won.

She then advanced to the national finals, where she and homecoming queens from 48 other states were interviewed by judges on their goals and current events, and had to write a timed essay on how they’d promote the competition.

The top 10 girls then answered a concluding question, with the final four and queen selected unanimously by seven judges.

After noting the dozens of achievements and awards on Tiffany’s profile, the judges asked what she thought would challenge her in life.

Her answer came from her experiences at school, traveling with her family and from the competition.

The aspiring FBI agent or United Nations ambassador said it would be a challenge to convince people to have tolerance for each other.

“In high school I have firsthandedly experienced intolerance,” she told them. “Every day in the news I see intolerance all around the world. . . . Tolerance is the key to everything, and . . . it is possible.”

Although America’s Homecoming Queen isn’t considered a beauty contest, it has what some would consider beauty-pageant trappings. The girls dress in evening gowns and the winner wears a crown and sash. However, there isn’t a talent or swim suit contest.

Tiffany added the top 10 finalists weren’t the “flawlessly gorgeous” girls in the competition who could easily get modeling contracts, but the humble, more intellectual ones who communicated cated their ideas well.

“Because here, personality is everything,” she said.

The judges were no doubt impressed, too, with the countless hours Tiffany has spent in community volunteer work.

SuWen Hsiou, Tiffany’s mother, said her daughter has always enjoyed helping others. “She does it from her heart. She’s just naturally that way.”

Tiffany found it amazing the number of girls in the competition who’d lived sheltered lives, having never left their state, flown on an airplane and seen the ocean. Indeed, one girl complimented Tiffany on being beautiful and then confessed she’d never seen a Chinese person in real life. Tiffany was the only contestant of Asian descent.

“That’s why I was even more proud to be there,” she said.

Even though Westlake High doesn’t have an ethnically-diverse student population, Tiffany said she’s come into contact with people from different ethnicities, ages and backgrounds in the many camps she’s attended, through volunteer work and in traveling to other continents with her family.

“The experience of entering the competition was enriching beyond the scholarship I won,” Tiffany said. She isn’t even sure of the amount of the scholarship.

“I left with something a lot more valuable than money,” she said. “I left as a better, more humble person. I’ve matured; I’ve learned a lot.”

After the competition, Tiffany thanked her parents for raising her and her three siblings in a state where they were exposed to diverse cultures and people.