Mariana Loya
| Beauty pageant titleholder | |
| Born |
Mariana Loya Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Title(s) | Miss Washington 1998, Miss Arizona USA 2005 |
| Major competition(s) | Miss America 1999, Miss USA 2005 |
Mariana Loya (born 1979) is a beauty queen who has competed at both Miss America and Miss USA.
Loya, who previously lived in Tacoma, Washington won her first state pageant title in 1998, when she competed as Miss Pierce County and won the Miss Washington title. She represented Washington in the Miss America 1999 pageant, but failed to place. The pageant was won by Nicole Johnson (who represented Virginia). At this time Loya was pursuing a Materials Science and Engineering degree from the University of Washington.
In 2003, Loya's family moved to the Army Base at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona where her father, Chaplain Juan Loya, retired as a Colonel. This residency allowed her to compete in the Miss Arizona USA 2005 pageant, which she won in late 2004. Loya failed to make the cut at the Miss USA 2005 pageant held in Baltimore, Maryland on 11 April 2005, which was won by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina.
Loya, successful academic in the field of engineering, was the most highly academicly accomplished contestant in the Miss USA 2005 pageant, having won a full PhD fellowship for a Materials Science Engineering Degree at the University of California, San Diego. She was in her first year of doctoral study at the time of the pageant. In 2000 she was named "National Student Role Model of the Year" by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.
Loya's other interests include swing and salsa dancing, hiking outdoors, playing the violin, church events, and traveling.
In November 2005, Loya passed on her Miss Arizona USA crown to Brenna Sakas of Chandler.
Loya completed her Ph.D. in 2010 and since then has been working as a materials engineer for Medtronic.
References
External links
- Miss Washington Scholarship Organisation website
- Biography of Mariana Loya on the Miss Arizona USA website