Meet Miss Seattle

Education equality advocate, T1D warrior, first-generation Eritrean-American, and public health professional, 23-year-old Hermona Girmay is a woman with a mission. Crowned Miss Seattle on February 25, 2024, she is committed to utilizing her new crown and sash as a microphone and pedestal to catalyze change within her community. 

 

Hermona is a 2023 Cum Laude and Departmental Honors Graduate of the University of Washington, where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health-Global Health and completed a Minor in Bioethics. With plans for graduate school set on a dual degree program, she will complete a Master of Public Health to further her career in health policy, and thanks the Miss America Opportunity for allowing young women nationwide the pursuit of higher education through scholarship. 

 

Hermona’s Community Service Initiative is titled “SHECAN: Support Her Education, Change A Nation”, and encompasses her 10+ years of girls’ education equality activism inspired by her family’s journey to the United States as refugees. Her experiences have brought her to 501(c)(3) status with 2Hands1Heart1World, to Good Morning America with the global non-profit She’s the First, and will bring her to reach young women throughout the Greater Seattle Area this year.

 

A born and raised Washingtonian, Hermona resides in Edmonds and can be found learning Ge’ez – the ancestor of her native languages, preparing for her next big musical theatre callback, or spending time with her many Girmay cousins. She has made her impact known in her community by proposing legislation and implementing school curriculums, and looks forward to the many ways she will expand her outreach through various service events, appearances, and adventures as Miss Seattle 2024.