Savannah Mari Gankiewicz (born November 28, 1995) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned

Miss USA 2023 Miss USA 2023 was the 72nd Miss USA pageant, held at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, on September 29, 2023. ''All times in this article are Pacific Time Zone ( UTC-7)'' Morgan Romano of North Carolina crowned Noelia Voigt of Utah as ...

. Gankiewicz is the fifth woman from Hawaii to become Miss USA. Gankiewic won

Miss Hawaii USA The Miss Hawaii USA competition, previously known as Miss Hawaii Universe, is a beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Hawaii in the Miss USA pageant. Issha Rose Mata of Hilo was crowned Miss Hawaii USA 2025 on March 2 ...

2023, and was the first runner-up at Miss USA, receiving the title after the original winner Noelia Voigt resigned in May 2024.

Early life and education

Gankiewicz was born on

Oahu Oahu (, , sometimes written Oahu) is the third-largest and most populated island of the Hawaiian Islands and of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The state capital, Honolulu, is on Oahu's southeast coast. The island of Oahu and the uninhabited Northwe ...

to parents Yvienne Tagorda Peterson and Mark Gankiewicz; her mother is from

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

and of

Filipina Filipinos () are citizens or people identified with the country of the Philippines. Filipinos come from various Austronesian peoples, all typically speaking Filipino, English, or other Philippine languages. Despite formerly being subject to ...

descent, while her father is of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

and

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...

descent. Her mother had a background in pageantry, having been crowned Mrs. Maui and serving as a director for the Miss Maui Filipina pageant. Gankiewicz spent the first six years of her life with her family on Maui, and later lived between Maui and

Stephenson, Virginia Stephenson is an unincorporated community in Frederick County, Virginia. Stephenson is located on U.S. Route 11 north of Winchester. High Banks, a historic home and farm dating from the mid-18th century, was listed on the National Register of ...

, where her father relocated. Gankiewicz was educated in Virginia, attending

Sherando High School Sherando High School is a public secondary school within Frederick County, Virginia, United States, and is part of Frederick County Public Schools. The school is located east of the town of Stephens City. History Sherando High School was open ...

Frederick County, Virginia Frederick County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 91,419. Its county seat is Winchester. The county was formed in 1743 by the splitting of Orange County. It is Virginia's nor ...

and

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...

. She later returned to Hawaii at age 21, settling in Kihei, Hawaii on Maui, where she began working as a professional model and a marketing coordinator at The Agency Maui.

Pageantry

Gankiewicz moved to the Philippines to model and competed in Mutya ng Pilipinas 2017, where she was a finalist and received the title of Mutya ng Pilipinas Overseas Filipino Communities for representing the Filipino-Hawaiian community. Following the pageant, she continued to live in the Philippines to work as a model for over a year. Gankiewicz entered and won

2023, competing as Miss Wailea. She was also awarded Miss Photogenic. Aged 27 at the time of her win, Gankiewicz opted to compete in her final year of age eligibility as she had wanted to wait until she felt ready for the responsibilities of being a state titleholder. With her win, Gankiewicz became the first woman from Maui to be crowned Miss Hawaii USA in over 20 years.

Miss USA 2023

As Miss Hawaii USA, Gankiewicz entered Miss USA 2023. The competition was held on September 29, 2023, in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

and aired on

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

. During the state costume portion of the pageant, Gankiewicz wore a costume paying tribute to the victims of the 2023 wildfire in

Lahaina, Hawaii Lahaina (; ) or Lāhainā is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maui County, Hawaii, United States. On the northwest coast of the island of Maui, it encompasses Lahaina town and the Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. At the 2020 census (be ...

on her home island of Maui, for which she won the Best State Costume award. Gankiewicz was the first runner-up in the competition, behind winner Noelia Voigt of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and additionally won the Best in Interview award. Gankiewicz later crowned Breea Yamat as her successor at the Miss Hawaii USA 2024 pageant in April 2024. In May 2024, Voigt announced that she was resigning her title as Miss USA, citing her struggles with

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

. Later that day, it was reported in the Hawaiian media that Gankiewicz had been asked to take over the Miss USA title. Due to pageant protocol, the first runner-up is asked to step in to fulfill the duties of Miss USA should the winner be unable to, and on May 9, it was announced that Gankiewicz would assume the title of Miss USA 2023. Gankiewicz was later officially crowned as Miss USA 2023 by Josh Green, the

governor of Hawaii The governor of Hawaii () is the head of government of the U.S. state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes bei ...

, in a ceremony held on May 15 in the neighborhood of Waikiki in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

. Following this, she became the fifth woman from Hawaii to be crowned Miss USA.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gankiewicz, Savannah 1995 births American beauty pageant winners American expatriates in the Philippines American female models American pageant participants of Filipino descent American people of Polish descent American people of Vietnamese descent Female models from Hawaii Female models from Virginia George Mason University alumni Hawaii people of Filipino descent Living people Miss USA winners Mutya ng Pilipinas winners People from Frederick County, Virginia People from Maui