This post was updated Sept. 29 at 11:42 p.m.

MimiQ Soong is making waves as the 2023-2024 Miss Taiwanese American Queen.

Miss Taiwanese American is an annual competition hosted by the Taiwan Center of Greater Los Angeles dedicated to “empowering women and embodying the beauty within,” according to the competition’s website. Through the pageant, the crowned court and ambassadors participate in select community service projects and foster Taiwanese identity.

Soong – a second-year world arts and cultures student – got her start at pageantry just last year, she said, when she took home the crown at the event. Although it was her first pageantry experience, Soong was selected to be the queen in August 2023, according to the competition’s Facebook, and has since spent the past year touring Taiwan and participating in various cultural and philanthropic events.

She added that she didn’t know what beauty pageants were before entering but chose to participate because she wanted to make her grandmother proud.

“I searched up pageants in Los Angeles and found the Miss Taiwanese American Beauty Pageant, which I thought resonated with myself the most,” Soong said.

Vera Yang, the Miss Taiwanese American Committee chairperson, said Soong surprised her all the time with her new ideas.

“At the beginning, when I first met MimiQ, she appeared to me like a little kid, very innocent,” Yang said. “But she has her mature side.”

Yang said she was not surprised that the judges picked her because Soong carried herself with such confidence on the stage.

Soong said she always thought of Taiwan as a magical place where she stayed up late, went to night markets and received gifts from her grandparents. When in Taiwan recently, Soong went on historical tours, visiting many meaningful places as Miss Taiwanese American Queen – including the residential house of now-former Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, she said.

Soong added that the pageant dug at her Taiwanese side.

“It was a lot about fostering confidence in our identity,” she said.

As her first duty as queen, Soong said she met with the then-Vice President and now-President of Taiwan, President Lai Ching Te.

“I was so nervous,” Soong said. “But I was still super honored to meet him.”

Soong added that she also visited a spinal cord injury rehabilitation center in Taiwan to help with fundraising efforts and promotion.

“It was very meaningful and also inspiring to meet these people whose lives were changed in a matter of seconds,” she added.

Soong added that she participated in cultural events and parades outside of Taiwan, such as the Huntington Beach Parade and the 125th Golden Dragon for Lunar New Year. She said she also visited Washington D.C. for the National Advocacy Conference that focused on current affairs between the U.S. and Taiwan.

Soong said her experience as Miss Taiwanese American made her want to study communication and apply it to the real world to share about Taiwan. She added that she feels education inspires her to go deeper and become a better Miss Taiwanese American Queen.

Shizue Roche Adachi, a graduate student teaching assistant, said Soong was a bright and extroverted student when she had her as a student in Food: A Lens for Environment and Sustainability, a first-year cluster.

“She always brought a lot of energy and excitement to the classroom and to her collaboration with her peers,” Roche Adachi said.

Natalie Vu, a fourth-year ecology, behavior and evolution student and a friend of Soong’s, said Soong also had to juggle many different activities during her time as queen.

“As a student, I know she balanced a lot of things,” she said. “And she would never complain or look tired.”

Soong said she will be serving a second year as Miss Taiwanese American Queen before passing her crown down next year. She said that with the age limit being raised to 18 and above, the directors decided to pick from a larger pool of candidates in the following year, while MimiQ would reign as queen for an additional year.

Soong said she plans to study hard and pursue her passions as she participates in her duties next year as queen.

“Whenever I go back to Taiwan, everybody welcomes me,” Soong said. “I just try to reflect that and do the same for others.”