While preparing for the Miss Los Angeles Chinatown pageant held in March, Nina Koh, a senior majoring in business administration, drove across Los Angeles in search of the perfect dress. Her mother, Sylvia Koh, was there every step of the way, including helping Koh as she wore high heels everywhere in preparation to walk the runway.

When Koh, competing in her first-ever pageant, was crowned Miss L.A. Chinatown, she felt grateful for the support of her family. Koh said her role is a way to honor her parents — who are both involved in community service — by being more involved in the Chinese American community she grew up in. 

“[Being Miss L.A. Chinatown] is really about being a role model for the younger girls,” Koh said. “That is the main thing that I’m excited for this year.”

In addition to Koh’s victory, Jennitine Chang, a senior majoring in business administration, took home third overall and Miss Friendship — the popular vote of the Chinatown community. 

The top five placing contestants are now part of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of L.A. court, which aims to encourage economic and cultural growth within the Chinese American community.

As court members, Koh and Chang will take charge of various community events in Chinatown. Recently, the court was featured in Chinatown’s 126th Golden Dragon Parade in March, where, among the sea of dancing lions and dragons, they represented the beauty of Chinese American women in their community, Chang said.

“As a court, one of the main highlights in our role is to inspire the young generation, to really empower them, and tie that with our Chinese culture and heritage,” Chang said.

During the competition, contestants were judged on a variety of segments, including a traditional Chinese dance, dress showcases and a question and answer section, to see whether they would be able to lead the community with elegance and confidence. Koh said her journey throughout the competition made her realize being Miss L.A. Chinatown was “90% leadership, community involvement, [and] being confident and 10% about beauty.” 

Peter Koh, Nina’s father, said she always had a sense of community, remembering when she volunteered at underprivileged children’s camps for two years. He also said she was so dedicated to becoming a role model for kids as queen, that she missed her family Christmas vacation to stay behind and practice for the competition.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for Nina. I want her to run with it,” Peter Koh said. “I hope she really gets into the community and meets a lot of people and does things to help, because there, there is a lot [more to do] out there.” 

Third-placing Chang said she competed because the pageant aligned with both her professional and personal values to improve as a person. 

“I want to go into marketing, and, in marketing, community is very important … [in] connecting with a brand’s target audience,” Chang said. “That’s the biggest reason why I joined this pageant. From this pageant, I [was] able to meet so many supportive people who will help me grow.” 

Chang attributed her status as Miss Friendship to three values — “creativity, curiosity and compassion.” She said creativity refers to being authentic, curiosity refers to open-mindedness and compassion refers to spreading kindness whenever she can. 

“I took those values with me entering this pageant,” Chang said. “Rather than viewing it as a rivalry [between contestants, I say] ‘How am I able to uplift others around me,’ and ‘How are we able to grow together?’”

Nina Koh said she sees Chang as her court “sister.” She said the competition was about doing what was best for their community by supporting each other. Chang said her court sisters helped her through everything, especially the Q&A segment, where she had the most difficulty facing the large crowd. She said the encouragement she got was the reason she succeeded in the segment. 

“We pride ourselves on picking the most articulate, intelligent young women that will represent our community to the best of their abilities,” said Mamie Hong Weinberg, a member of the board of directors for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of L.A. “[Nina and Jennitine] were absolute perfect choices for our court.”

While the current court has only recently started its role as community leaders, Koh said she is excited to take part in and choose what events to host. She plans to propose a Lunar New Year celebration in her hometown, San Marino, where her father is the president of their local Chinese club. 

“I’m very excited to see what this year holds for this court, because they are trying examples of what our future young, powerful women will be,” Weinberg said.