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The first ever beauty and talent competition among young Asian women, fittingly tagged Pan Pacific Princess 2010 and produced by Special Care Community Services, Inc. in cooperation with Exquisite Concepts International took place this summer. Amy Kao won the title and she is stellar!
Amy Kao representing Taiwan took home the crown after competing in the talent, national costume, sportswear, swimwear, and evening gown competitions.

Amy’s motivation for entering the pageant came after visiting the Special Cares Services website where she wanted to find information on how to promote disability awareness and volunteer for its programs. She has worked with the NJ State Department of Child Advocates and lobbied for disabled individuals 19+ to have access to education and healthcare.
“Other pageants were for scholarships or were beauty pageants. The [Pan Pacific Princess] was different because it was a pageant with a cause. This cause unites the community and bonds the beautiful diverse Asian candidates,” she said.
When asked how she felt about being crowned the 2010 Pan Pacific Princess, she said she was humbled by the entire experience and felt fortunate and lucky to be the first PPP. It has given her a unique opportunity to give back to the Special Cares community service for promoting disability awareness and serve as a spokesmodel.

ASIANCE: How did you hear about Pan Pacific Princess Pageant?

Amy: I first learned about the Pan Pacific Princess Pageant when I was searching for community service opportunities of volunteering with people who have developmental disabilities near my home area. I came upon the Special Cares Community Services (SCCS) website, browsed around, and saw details about the Pan Pacific Princess pageant. This was a pageant with a great cause benefiting those with developmental disabilities and seemed very interesting, so I contacted Senen, the President and Founder of SCCS, as well as the Executive producer of the pageant, and before I knew it, I was an official contestant in the Pan Pacific Princess USA Pageant!

ASIANCE: Why did you want to enter the Pan Pacific Princess Pageant?

Amy: This pageant is different than the traditional beauty pageant because it is a pageant with a great cause and promotes inner beauty and talent. Being that this was a benefit pageant, I knew this event would attract many talented girls who were passionate about making a difference for their communities. Just as I predicted, this pageant allowed me to meet beautiful girls, both inside and out.

Belmar Beach Photoshoot

ASIANCE: Why do you think you won?

Amy: I think I am very fortunate and extremely blessed to have been crowned the first-ever Pan Pacific Princess. All the contestants were so talented, amazing, and of course, very deserving of the title as well. The most important thing to remember in a pageant is to just be yourself and have a great experience! If you are truly passionate about the mission of Pan Pacific Princess pageant, it will shine through your personality. I think the judges saw my passion for serving my community and thought that I would be a great representative for SCCS.

ASIANCE: Tell us about your background and course of study! Where did you grow up, ethnicity, etc. So accomplished!

Amy: I was born and raised in New Jersey, with a Chinese/Taiwanese background. Currently, I am studying abroad at Oxford University in England concentrating on my tutorials including Finance, Economics, and Operations Management. It is such an exciting experience and I’m enjoying every minute of it! My home university is Carnegie Mellon University, where I am majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Public Policy and Management and Chinese. After obtaining my bachelor’s degree, I hope to go on to pursue a JD/MBA.

ASIANCE: What role must you play now that you are the Princess. Tell us about your duties.

Amy: As Pan Pacific Princess, I am the official spokesmodel for the Special Cares Community Services. Currently, I am organizing Walk with Care, a walk-a-thon at Jersey Gardens Mall (NJ’s largest premium outlet!) to raise awareness and fundraise for the special needs community. The event is set to take place on March 5, 2011. It will be a fun-filled event comprised of many musical performances, entertainment, and speeches from community leaders and motivational speakers. All participants will receive a bag of goodies from our multiple sponsors, a t-shirt, and a coupon book for Jersey Gardens Mall to go shopping afterwards! For more information about the walk and registration details, please visit www.sccs-nj.org.

ASIANCE: What do you want to be when you grow up?

Amy: Honestly, I’m not entirely sure yet. My general plan for now is to work for the financial service industry upon graduating college. However, nothing is set in stone yet! Ultimately, I hope to apply what I have learned in business to social ends and benefit the community.

ASIANCE: Tell us about some of your fellow contestants who really stuck out to you. What were their talents?

Amy: All the contestants were unique and talented in their individual ways. The first and second princesses-Denise Cintron and Camille Gabat-were both extremely accomplished and talented. Denise was a great dancer and Camille a talented singer. I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw Denise on Dancing with the Stars or Camille on American Idol one day in the future! However, Denise and Camille are just two among a pool of extremely talented and diverse contestants. It was a pleasure working and getting to know all the contestants.

ASIANCE: What was the best experience of the competition to you?

Amy: The best experiences were the friendships that I’ve formed throughout the pageant. Because we had rehearsals every Saturday to prepare for the pageant, all the contestants grew very close and we’ve had so much fun together. All the contestants were so friendly and we still keep in touch. In fact, a couple of us recently performed in a musical/fashion show together in New York. We’ve become a close-knit family and the valuable friendship I have formed with each of the contestants is one that I will cherish for the rest of my life!

Facebook Event about upcoming walk that Amy is organizing:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Caring-Feet-Walk-a-Thon/162642537101346

Here are the official results of the pageant:

Competition Categories:
Winner of National Costume: Camille Gabat
Winner of Sportswear: Amy Kao
Winner of Swimsuit: Amy Kao
Winner of Photo: Charmaine Puno
Winner of Evening Gown: Amy Kao
Darling of the Crowd: Denise Cintron
Winner of Talent: Amy Kao
Motives Make-up Winner: Senna Lau

4th Runner up: Jessica Gabat, Miss Phillipines
3rd Runner-up: Caroline Vu, Miss Vietnam
2nd runner up: Camille Gabat
1st Runner up: Denise Cintron
First Princess: Amy Kao

See Amy Kao's Asiance profile!