Miss Ohio makes history as first Latina to win state title

Spectrum News spoke to a University of Cincinnati student about winning the Miss Ohio pageant and competing next year in Miss America.

UC College of Arts and Sciences student Stephanie Finoti is studying biomedical science while working as a patient care assistant at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.

Finoti is the first Latina to win the Ohio pageant, which comes with a $10,000 college scholarship. The Miss America Foundation is the largest scholarship organization for women in the United States. 

She will travel to Florida in January to compete in Miss America.

“I grew up in a low income community and telling my teachers I want to grow up and be a doctor and being told you know we don’t have the resources to help you do that,” Finoti told Spectrum News.

UC figured prominently in helping Finoti prepare for the pageant. She is a regular at UC's Campus Recreation Center. And she took dance classes at UC's College-Conservatory of Music to help her win the talent portion of the contest with her ballet performance.

In a UC biology lab, Finoti unboxed her Miss Ohio sash and crown to show to Spectrum News and a spray of confetti from the recent Ohio contest fell out. 

“When things get really hard or I feel like I want to give up or I'm not enough, I can look back at this confetti and remember I did that. I am enough,” Finoti told Spectrum News.

Watch the Spectrum News report.

Featured image at top: UC biomedical science student Stephanie Finoti is the 2024 Miss Ohio. Photo/Provided