It’s been a bit of a whirlwind journey for Valerie West, a 22-year-old newly-certified EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) from New York, USA who is now representing the Ifugao province in the Miss Universe Philippines pageant.
It was just last January 25 when Valerie was crowned Reina Filipina North America. Just a few weeks later, she found herself in the Philippines, ready to compete for the chance to represent the country in the Miss Universe pageant set in Thailand this year. While it might seem like she was suddenly thrust into the competition, Valerie is no stranger to the pageant scene.
She started her pageant journey after being named Miss York County’s Outstanding Teen in 2017, landing in the top 5 of Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen in the same year. The following year she was named Miss Luzerne County’s Outstanding Teen and once again became part of the Top 5 Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teens. 2019 saw her being named Miss Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Outstanding Teen and 1st Runner-Up for Miss Pennsylvania’s Outstanding Teen.
Then the pandemic struck so pageantry had to take a back seat. In the meantime, she completed her Biomedical Engineering degree at the University of Delaware. With the intention to further pursue a medical degree, Valerie wants to get into pediatric cardiology one day.
That “one day” might take a bit more time though as she has just resumed her pageant journey with the Miss Universe Philippines after becoming the Reina Filipina North America titleholder.
“I'm excited to be representing my Ifugao roots and also the Philippine community in New York,” Valerie said days upon her arrival in the country. The last time Valerie was in the Philippines was in 2019 and she almost got stuck here just as the worldwide lockdowns were being implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Apart from a college degree, she’s also armed with skills in singing, dancing, and competitive martial arts. Singing, in particular, is her passion and she even writes some of her own songs. In fact, she was a contestant on a singing competition show, The Clash, back when she was just 17. Like studying medicine, it’s something she’d like to pursue in the future.
“As a Filipino raised by Filipino mom, of course, it's been instilled from a young age love for pageantry. And as I got older it's not just, ‘Oh it's so beautiful looking at these queens walking so gracefully.’ They become role models in my life. They each have such beauty and brains so I tried to model that in my life,” Valerie said. She also added that her mom, who hails from Kiangan, Ifugao, is her inspiration to pursue her beauty pageant dreams.
She also admires Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray who she says has “taken the crown and done so much with it even afterwards.” Catriona is known for her advocacy to promote Filipino culture, something she continues until now.
Valerie has her own advocacy through the PUSO Foundation, founded by Robert Banez in 2017. The foundation has the "purposeful unconditional service to others” in underserved communities in 7 countries through various platform. “Through my partnership with PUSO, I spread the message of ‘paying it forward,’ and advocate for the importance of service work, especially amongst younger individuals. Through small and large acts of kindness, and involvement in one's community, kindness multiplies and lives can be changed globally. The message is simple: Give a little, change a lot!”
With her beauty, brains, and heart, Valerie is already a pageant standout and ready to take the pageant world by storm.
