On August 1, 2024, BYU student Josephina Lealaitafea was crowned Miss Samoa USA after the pageant's 15-year hiatus.
Lealaitafea is a cell biology and physiology major from West Jordan, Utah. Being of Samoan heritage, she was recruited on June 30, only four weeks before the Miss Samoa USA pageant in Las Vegas, Lealaitafea explained.
“I was like, ‘Oh, uh no. Never,'” she said of her reaction.
Lealaitafea thought about it, she shared, and felt the benefits outweighed the costs.
The BYU student is the first Miss Samoa USA crowned after a 15-year pause of the event.
In addition to being crowned, Lealaitafea won six other awards, including the People’s Choice Award, Miss Photogenic, Best Interview and Best Sarong.
“I did not expect to win. I did not expect to win at all,” she said.
On Lealaitafea’s Instagram post announcing her achievement, fellow participant Reenah Lafaele commented, sharing her congratulations.
“You always got your pageant sisters by your side through the entire journey and congrats again Joey you got big and better things coming ahead for you God is great and I can’t wait to see your future endeavors,” Lafaele said.
Currently, Lealaitafea is preparing to leave to Samoa at the end of August, where she will participate in the Miss Samoa pageant. The winner of this event will go on to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, which has not had a Samoan contestant in 38 years.
Though there will be minor differences in the program of the Miss Samoa pageant, the activities will mostly remain the same as last week’s Miss Samoa USA event.
Lealaitafea explained there was a pre-interview the day before the main event, where the contestants choose what to speak about.
“I think my favorite part was the interview, as crazy as it sounds,” she said.
The platform Lealaitafea said she chose was bridging culture and innovation. She gave a speech incorporating the work she does in the labs at BYU.
“My topic was how we can use our culture as a stepping stone, like it’s not a liability when it comes to being in the modern world. Together hand-in-hand, they can promote our people and advance,” she said.
Lealaitafea shared she is working under professor Rick Gill from the biology department, researching plants in Samoa and their medicinal uses. She will help create a manuscript providing models that demonstrate what will change in Samoa if those plants go extinct because of climate change.
The student added she has worked with and visited Hawaii twice with biology professor Tina Tavana. Along with others, they have studied Alzheimer’s disease in natives and increased samples of natives from 17 to thousands, Lealaitafea shared.
“It’s not like the movies, where … it’s all about looks,” she said about the beauty pageant. “They emphasize, like, how are you gonna help our community? How are you going to help Samoa? How are you gonna empower young (Samoan women)?”
In the pageant, the second part of the interview is held on the night of the main event onstage. The contestants pick a question out of a bowl and answer it, Lealaitafea said.
The other events included dressing like a taupou (traditional wear of the Samoan chief’s daughter), wearing a sarong (a lavalava worn on top of swimwear), sharing a talent and evening wear. Lealaitafea played the pinao for the talent portion.
“I don’t play the piano, so really my talent was I’m a fast learner,” she said.
She shared that the talent she will present in Samoa will be dance.
Lealaitafea shared a powerful experience that occurred at the beginning of the night, which affected her during the rest of the pageant.
“There was a wardrobe malfunction during my first category,” she said.
During the start of her taupou performance, her crown fell to a tilted position. For the duration of her dance, Lealaitafea held it up with one hand.
“It’s a bad omen if it were to completely fall off,” she said.
Lealaitafea noticed the shadow of her crown tilting, as well as the reactions of the whole audience. She described the experience as “scary” in the moment, saying she was trying not to “freak out.”
Nevertheless, the pageant winner shared she felt the “mana” and love of the people around her. She felt the sympathy from the audience, she added, while she cried during the performance.
“I definitely felt my ancestors there,” Lealaitafea said.
Though it may have been a challenging experience, she learned of the love and support she receives, she explained.
“It was a core memory for sure. There were probably thousands of people watching it live, by the end of the night. I think, now, it’s like 70,000 views,” she said. “I learned that I’m loved and supported, and definitely know that on the other side of the veil they’re watching out for me.”
Lealaitafea said she struggled to fully mentally recover after the wardrobe malfunction. However, she felt she had to give a good show to those who had paid to be there and sell the product she wore for the designer, she explained.
Lealaitafea’s mother, Annisha Lealaitafea, commented on her daughter’s perseverance.
“Joey’s always been the type to give her best no matter what, even with trying new things and getting out of her comfort zone,” she said. “When she won, I was incredibly humbled by it for her and proud of her for putting herself out there for the world to see.”
She continued sharing the new Miss Samoa USA’s qualities.
“As her mom, I’m biased, but she’s everything good in this world. She’s beautiful, talented, compassionate, kind, intelligent, humble, fun-loving, down to earth and a natural-born leader. She’s respectful of others’ opinions and belief systems and makes sure they feel seen, valued and heard. She’s faithful to her own beliefs and standards and wants to serve our Polynesian people to the best of her abilities and immerse herself in her cultural heritage.”
Lealaitafea said she was shocked when they announced her name as winner. She joked, saying she might not have understood what she was getting into.
Currently, she is participating in outreach events and preparing her performances for the Miss Samoa pageant, she explained, all while finding time to work and getting ready for school.