Mariana Loya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mariana Loya (born 1979) is a beauty queen who has competed at both Miss America and Miss USA. She has Spanish and Chinese ancestry.

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 of Illinois. 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 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 highest qualified delegate 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 doctorate 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 2006, Loya passed on her Miss Arizona USA crown to Brenna Sakas of Chandler.