CLARISSA BOWERS CROWNED MISS WORLD USA WHAT'S GOING ON

AUGUST 17, 2017 | BY THERESA CAMPBELL

Umatilla native and Lake-Sumter State College graduate, Clarissa Bowers, was crowned Miss World USA 2017 at the national competition hosted in Orlando on Aug. 13, and next she will advance to the global Miss World competition on Nov. 18 in China.

Clarissa (right in photo) will vie with representatives from more than120 countries for the international title.

“I am overwhelmed with joy,” Clarissa was quoted saying shortly after her national win. “The America’s Miss World crown is a symbol of a woman who inspires, empowers, and advocates.”

A graduate of Umatilla High School, Clarissa received her associate’s degree from LSSC while playing volleyball for the Lakehawks. She continued her education by transferring to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, to study neuroscience.

Clarissa says her ultimate career goal is to become a reconstructive surgeon and help wounded members of the armed forces.

In a November 2016 interview with Lake and Sumter Style magazine, Clarissa noted her parents are her role models.

“My parents both work in the medical field, so I aspire to be like them in that aspect, but beyond that I aspire to attain their inner qualities more and more each day—kindness, compassion, humility, intelligence, and a good sense of humor among others. If I can be eve half the parent to my children that my parents were to me, I’ll do a great job.”

Also in the magazine story, she revealed her advice to younger students: “Always set goals but always strive to surpass them.”

According to the pageant’s website, Miss World is the oldest and largest international beauty pageants in the world. In 2014, the pageant eliminated the swimsuit portion of the competition to focus on competitions that celebrate the many attributes of women around the world. The winner of Miss World is determined by a series of events designed to test the candidates’ fitness, talent, modeling skill, public speaking, social media interaction, and philanthropic endeavors.

https://www.lakeandsumterstyle.com/clarissa-bowers-crowned-miss-world-usa-2017/