Miss USA - Morgan Romano
By Meg Hale Brunton
Miss North Carolina, Morgan Romano, was crowned Miss USA in Auburn, AL during the Miss Alabama USA and Miss Alabama Teen USA pageant this past January. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she says of winning. “It was the best time of my life, something I’ll never forget, and something I’ll be telling my kids and my grandkids about.”
Originally from upstate New York, Morgan developed a love of being on stage as a competitive dancer and hoped to one day become a Rockette. Instead, she attended the University of South Carolina and began taking courses in chemical engineering. “There were a lot of boys and I didn’t know anyone,” she recalls of her college classes. “That’s kind of what made me be in pageants, because I wanted to meet other like-minded girl friends that I could hang out with.” She participated in a few pageants in South Carolina and always came in with the top five, but never won. After graduating in 2020, Morgan moved to Charlotte, North Carolina and accepted an engineering position at a development company called RE Mason.
Morgan also began doing regular training to improve her pageant skills. “It’s honestly like training for the Olympics. You have to work everyday to do something to get better,” she explains. She would work with a physical trainer every morning, then do a full day of work. After work, Morgan would run a mock interview, and work on branding, or practice stage-walking, or do a fitting. She would end her day by listening to a podcast to stay up-to-date on current events. “It’s a lot of work, but a lot of reward and a lot of fun too.” The work paid off, and Morgan won Miss North Carolina and went on to win Miss USA.
Now, as Miss USA, Morgan is traveling internationally to work with different organizations, such as Best Buddies, Smile Train, and Women in STEM. While she hopes to continue to do work that betters the world, she hasn’t decided on what path to take after her term as Miss USA ends. “The opportunities are really endless, which sounds amazing, but can also feel really overwhelming,” Morgan explains, stating that she has made so many contacts with amazing organizations through her roles as Miss North Carolina and Miss USA. “I’ve never ever taken a break in my life. I’ve definitely always had that hustle mentality, and it paid off. I think I just need to take a step back and figure out who Morgan is now.”