Morgan Renee Romano (born July 19, 1998) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss USA 2022 Miss USA 2022 was the 71st Miss USA pageant. The competition was held on October 3, 2022 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada and was broadcast on the FYI cable channel. The competition was hosted by Zuri Hall for the second consecutive y ...

. Previously crowned Miss North Carolina USA 2022, Romano placed as the first runner-up at Miss USA, and took over the title after its original winner

R'Bonney Gabriel R'Bonney Nola Gabriel (born March 20, 1994) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 2022. Gabriel will represent the United States at Miss Universe 2022. Early life and education Gabriel was born in Houston, Texas to ...

was crowned

Miss Universe 2022 Miss Universe 2022 will be the 71st Miss Universe pageant, to be held at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States on January 14, 2023. Harnaaz Sandhu of India will crown her successor at the end of ...

. Romano is the fourth woman from North Carolina to be crowned Miss USA.

Early life and education

Morgan Renee Romano was born on July 19, 1998, in

Johnstown, New York Johnstown is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County in the U.S. state of New York. The city was named after its founder, Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York and a major general during the Seve ...

. After completing high school, Romano moved to

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the ci ...

, to enroll in the University of South Carolina, graduating with a degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials in ...

in 2020. Romano had decided to relocate to the southern United States due to her dislike for the harsh winter weather in

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the area of New York State that lies north and northwest of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long ...

. Following her graduation, Romano relocated to

Concord, North Carolina Concord is the county seat and largest city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus County, in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 105,186, with an estimated popu ...

, where she began working as an application engineer for industrial equipment supplier RE Mason.

Pageantry

At the encouragement of her mother, Romano began competing in pageantry as a teenager, and was a runner-up at

Miss New York's Outstanding Teen ''For the state pageant affiliated with Miss Teen USA, see Miss New York Teen USA'' The Miss New York's Outstanding Teen competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the U.S. state of New York in Miss America's Outstanding Teen pa ...

when she was in high school. After relocating to

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

in 2016, Romano decided to return to pageantry, due to her desire to make more female friends as a female student in a male-dominated field. She later won the title of Miss Midlands, and competed at

Miss South Carolina The Miss South Carolina competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Carolina in the Miss America pageant. The pageant was first held in Myrtle Beach and moved to Greenville starting in 1958 and remained in ...

three times and

Miss South Carolina USA The Miss South Carolina USA competition, previously known as Miss South Carolina Universe, is the pageant that selects the representative for the state South Carolina in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. The ...

once, without winning a title. Romano began competing in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

pageantry after relocating there in 2020, and was the second runner-up at Miss North Carolina USA 2021. Romano returned to the competition the following year. The final was held on January 29, 2022, where Romano once again advanced to the top five, ultimately winning the title. Romano later crowned Jordyn McKey as her successor at Miss North Carolina USA 2023 on February 25, 2023.

Miss USA 2022

As Miss North Carolina USA, Romano represented North Carolina at Miss USA 2022. The competition was held on October 3, 2022, in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the c ...

. Romano was first runner-up, behind winner

Miss Texas USA The Miss Texas USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state Texas in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by that winner. This pageant is part of the Miss USA Organization, owned by Texas native ...

. During the competition, Romano promoted

women in STEM fields Many scholars and policymakers have noted that the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) have remained predominantly male with historically low participation among women since the origins of these fields in the 18th ce ...

. Due to pageant protocol, Gabriel was unable to continue her reign as Miss USA after winning

in January 2023, and her Miss USA title was passed on to Romano. During her reign as Miss USA, Romano has worked with the nonprofits Project Scientist and

Smile Train Smile Train is a nonprofit organization and charity providing corrective surgery for children with cleft lips and palates. Headquartered in New York City and founded in 1999, Smile Train provides free corrective cleft surgery in 87 countries, ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romano, Morgan 1998 births American beauty pageant winners Living people Miss USA winners People from Concord, North Carolina People from Johnstown, New York University of South Carolina alumni