The Miss Earth USA organization hosted the coronation ceremony for the 2022 edition on 8th January 2022 as stunning delegates from all over the country competed for the national crown and an opportunity to represent USA at the Miss Earth USA 2022 pageant. At the end of the event, Pennsylvania’s Natalia Silmon was crowned as the new queen as she succeeded Miss Earth USA 2021 Marisa Paige Butler for the title.
Along with the new queen, the organization also crowned the elemental court for the edition, where Emma Loney of Oklahoma was crowned as Miss Earth USA Eco 2022. The diva became the first-ever plus-sized Miss Earth USA national titleholder with a stellar and path-breaking journey.
24 years-old Emma is a Law Student at Northern Illinois University College of Law studying criminal law, with the hopes of one day becoming a district attorney, judge, and on the Supreme Court. She has a bachelor’s degree from Edgewood College in both criminal justice and psychology.
Adding up to her academic endeavors, Emma is also a plus size model, content creator, and body positivity advocate. The diva started her beauty pageant journey at the age of 16-years and soon realized that the title and platform can be used to implement changes in the society.
With her never giving up attitude, Loney came under the spotlight as she represented Wisconsin at Miss Earth USA 2021 and later represented Southern Illinois at Miss Illinois USA 2021. Emma decided to participate at Miss Earth USA because she wants to educate and create awareness regarding Climate Change.
“I joined Miss Earth USA because I believed in the mission. I wanted to be a part of something greater than myself, and advocate for our Earth while doing something I loved; pageantry. Being crowned Miss Earth USA Eco is a huge step forward for pageantry, and I truly hope to see more inclusion across the United States and the world.” she shared.
She also added, “It was tough moving from a youth circuit to such a large scale pageant, quickly realizing that I didn’t look like everyone else. I wanted to give up. But, Miss Earth USA made me feel accepted as I was, in who I was, and that is why I kept coming back. Because IT IS TRULY ABOUT SO MUCH MORE THAN A CROWN AND SASH. I kept competing to inspire other women like me or anyone who has ever felt like they are not enough because of how they look. I continued to compete to show that ALL women are beautiful, and the traditional idea of a ‘beauty pageant’ needed to change, because pageantry is about SO much more than our outward beauty, but instead, our inner beauty. I got, and will continue to be, criticized for looking as I do and competing in pageants. But challenging social norms will always be met with its share of hate, and change is not easy.”
Emma showcases that she is not only the one who has broken the set notions of beauty standards for beauty pageants but also working hard to empower women just like her and making them realize that if they want something in life, they must work hard for it and not listen to what others say.