Oklahoma State University RISE Coordinator Takes Her Shot At Miss U.S. Latina Pageant

Press release from Oklahoma State University:

August 26, 2021

Media Contact:
Jordan Bishop | Communications Specialist | 405-744-9782 | jordan.bishop@okstate.edu

When Maura Loyola walks down the hall to her fourth-floor Scott Hall office every
day, no one ever thinks anything about her stride.

However, a few weeks ago, that was all anyone could talk about as she strolled down
the runway at the Miss U.S. Latina Pageant in Miami, Florida.

Loyola, the reigning Miss Oklahoma Latina, competed against 18 other women in the
annual pageant on Aug. 8. Like many pageants, it had categories in swimsuit, evening
gown, traditional wear and an interview portion.

It was a whirlwind for Loyola, whose day job is the coordinator for the Retention
Initiative for Student Excellence (RISE) program at Oklahoma State University.

“It was out of my comfort zone and that was one of the reasons where I thought, ‘When
else am I going to be able to do something like this. When is this opportunity going
to come along?’” Loyola said. “Down in Miami, it was out of my comfort zone and not
something that I am used to, not something that I grew up doing, but all of the other
women were very nice and just having a bond formed between us because there were 19
of us. Working on my walk is completely different than when I am walking down Scott
Hall, but it is a wonderful experience.”

Loyola didn’t place, but she congratulated the eventual winner, Roxette Solis of Washington.

A first-generation college student, Loyola became involved in pageants as an undergraduate,
when she won the Miss Hispanic OSU pageant in 2014. Her mentor, Angela Vivar, was
also a former Miss Oklahoma Latina, as well as the RISE coordinator when Loyola started
school at OSU.

“She helped me prepare for this pageant with my walk and interview skills and just
different things like that,” Loyola said. “She was the biggest one to help me prepare
for this. She was my mentor ever since I was a freshman, and I wouldn’t be in this
role where I am without her.”

Loyola said Oklahoma has no board running a statewide Miss U.S. Latina competition.
So as a former Miss Hispanic OSU, she instead applied to the national competition
itself, which then crowned her Miss Oklahoma Latina.

Since there is no state organization, Oklahoma hasn’t had an entrant every year, but
Loyola hopes more women continue to represent the state because she knows how important
it is to have that representation.

“I think it is important because it is a space for us,” Loyola said. “One of the differences
for Miss U.S. Latina compared to other pageants is that we have a cultural component.
We each brought different cultural outfits that were representative of our heritage,
our nationality and just being able to showcase that. Just being able to be proud
of that and having a space to be proud of that.”

Loyola grew up in California but moved to Oklahoma during high school and attended
Edmond Santa Fe. Her parents are Mexican immigrants with her father, Tito, from Guanajuato,
and her mother, Elvira, from Jalisco.

They were able to come to Miami, along with her sister Alejandra, to watch her compete
in the pageant.

“They were so proud,” Loyola said. “I am so proud of them because they got to Miami
on their own, and Miami was awesome because everyone speaks Spanish and my parents
were able to communicate with everybody, whereas here in Oklahoma, it is a little
bit harder.

“They told me they were so proud because they never thought I would do something like
this. We had family and friends watching the live stream on their Facebook. Just beautiful
to have that support from my family in Mexico and in the United States.”

For the competition, Loyola wore a traditional dress she purchased from a Mexican
boutique in Los Angeles and an evening dress made by Oklahoma designer Sherri Hill.
She purchased them through Poshmark.

Being Miss Oklahoma Latina was basically a second job for Loyola.

“It is a second job,” Loyola said. “That role, that responsibility, just having that
platform to be able to do what the Miss Latina wants to do. I want to do education.
I am very passionate about higher education, so I want to continue to do events like
that.”

It is a lot to add to her day job, but she enjoys it all. As a RISE scholar and now
the RISE coordinator, she interacts with a lot of students who are first generation,
minorities or members of the LGBTQ community. She works with around 60-70 students
and provides them support, checks in on them to see how classes are going and gives
workshops over topics like time management and goal setting.

“I came here in February 2019, but this is my fifth year working with the university,”
Loyola said. “It has just been beautiful being on this side, and the students all
have different goals and different passions, different majors that they want to accomplish.
Anything that I can do to help them get to that next step and just being able to help
them has been beautiful. My first class of students graduated in May, so I was able
to go to their graduation and watch it come full circle, which was beautiful.”

Loyola said it helped a lot to have OSU be flexible with her schedule so she could
go compete. She credited Dr. Jason Kirksey, OSU’s vice president for institutional
diversity; Dr. Jovette Dew, OSU’s director of multicultural affairs; and Chris Bingham,
coordinator of the Inclusion Leadership Program, for helping her make time to participate
in the pageant.

“We are always willing to support each other,” Dew said. “She has given so much for
our students. I was so happy to see her shine and pursue her dream. She is confident
and courageous.”

As for what’s next, Loyola said she is willing to serve as a mentor to anyone who
needs it, just like Vivar was to her. She is working toward getting her master’s in
social work from the University of Oklahoma and hopes that her success can inspire
other girls.

“Just that representation that you are a female, first gen, daughter of immigrants,”
Loyola said. “I want girls to think, ‘If she can go through college and get her bachelor’s
and reach her goals, then I can reach my goals, too.’ It is beautiful.”

This press release was produced by Oklahoma State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.