JOPPATOWNE, Md. — Days after being crowned Miss Maryland 2026, Gianna Romero traveled to Philadelphia to take part in America 250 events with the other finalists in this year's Miss America competition. She hasn't had much time to process her win.
"Every once in a while I'll sit down and I'll start to think and be like, wow, I'm, I'm Miss Maryland, and that's just really incredible to be able to wake up to," she said.
Being crowned Miss Maryland was a dream come true for the Joppatowne native, who got into pageants by way of baton twirling.
"I saw someone I had gone to school with had become Miss Bel Air, which is one of our local titles in the Miss Maryland organization, and I said, you know what? I want to do that. I love community. I love community service and I want to be able to give back to the places that I've really felt like home and have given me so much," she said.
RELATED: Gianna Romero, winner of Miss Maryland 2026, is from Harford County
She has been competing for three years in the Miss Maryland organization and was one of 13 finalists in the competition this June in Hagerstown.
"The jaw dropped instantly as soon as my name was called," she said about the moment she realized she won the title. "I was very much like, oh my goodness, this is that was my name, this is me."
Romero said the community service component of pageants also drew her to compete. She said it was ingrained in her to give back during her time at The John Carroll School in Harford County.
"My community service initiative is all about healthy relationships, stemming from my experience in a two year long abusive relationship," Romero said. "So being able to even talk to students and give them the educational resources that I wasn't fortunate enough to have, has really been the most incredible part of my journey."
And now she's gearing up to represent her home state on a national stage while on her summer break from classes at Stevenson University.
"I'm excited to be able to represent Maryland and I know that through the preparation and from the support from Maryland, my family, my friends, and Miss Maryland organization that I'm gonna be able to represent the state to my most and be able to show them that us Maryland girls and us Marylanders, we're strong, we're heavy hitters, we're ready to go and we're gonna, we're gonna represent well."
Romero will compete in the Miss America competition, which starts at the end of August in Palm Beach, Florida. The crowing ceremony will happen September 6.
