Erin O'Flaherty

Erin O'Flaherty
Born South Carolina[1]
Title Miss Missouri 2016
Predecessor McKensie Garber

Erin O'Flaherty is an American beauty pageant titleholder who currently holds the title of Miss Missouri in the Miss America pageant. She is the first openly gay contestant to compete in Miss America.[2]

Pageants

In 2013, she was crowned Miss University of Central Florida.[3] While there, she was an ambassador for Children's Miracle Network.[4] She took a couple years off from pageant competition, however, wanted to compete before she surpassed the age eligibility.[5] In 2016, she was crowned Miss Missouri in the Miss America pageant. Also in 2016, she became the first openly gay contestant to compete in Miss America.[2] Her platform is suicide prevention, a cause close to her heart from losing her best friend to suicide and experiencing her first funeral at the age of 13.[6] As an advocate for suicide prevention, she works with The Trevor Project, a hotline for LGBT youth, and The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.[7] Her talent is a vocal performance.[8]

Personal life

Erin O'Flaherty is originally from Florence, South Carolina.[8] O'Flaherty came out as gay when she was 18.[1] She decided to attend the University of Central Florida, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting.[6] During an interview at UCF, O'Flaherty's dream job was to be a cashier as a child. She loved balancing her grandmother's checkbook every Sunday and was fascinated with the transaction process. As her strength for rules, organization, and numbers increased with her entrepreneurial drive, her dream or owning or operating a small business was created.[4] She currently lives in Chesterfield, Missouri as an owner of a boutique called Rachel's Grove.[8] She enjoys world traveling, kayaking to see wildlife in Wekiwa Springs, and playing soccer. She also enjoys singing, which contributes to her talent in pageants. [4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Mansouri, Kavahn. "New Miss Missouri Erin O'Flaherty Is Proud to Be Gay". The Riverfront Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Shepherd, Ken. "Erin O'Flaherty hoping to become first openly lesbian Miss America". The Washington Times. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  3. ↑ Coyne, Amanda. "Meet Erin O'Flaherty, the First Openly Gay Beauty Queen to Compete at Miss America". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Meet Someone Who Looks Forward to Balancing Her Checkbook – Miss UCF". UCF News - University of Central Florida Articles - Orlando, FL News. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  5. ↑ "Former Miss UCF Wins Miss Missouri Title". UCF News - University of Central Florida Articles - Orlando, FL News. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  6. 1 2 Mansouri, Kavahn. "New Miss Missouri Erin O'Flaherty Is Proud to Be Gay". Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  7. ↑ Editor, JamesMichael Nichols Queer Voices Deputy; Post, The Huffington (2016-09-09). "Meet The First Openly Gay Miss America Contestant In History". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  8. 1 2 3 "Erin O'Flaherty: Miss Missouri is Miss America's first openly gay contestant". Retrieved 2016-09-12.


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