4 the 412 team member Elena LaQuatra wins Miss Pennsylvania USA
Mt. Lebanon High School grad moves on to Miss USA pageant
UPDATED 7:02 PM EST Dec 07, 2015
At 23, Elena LaQuatra has been entering and winning beauty pageants since she was a teenager. On Sunday, she finally won Miss Pennsylvania USA.
"My jaw dropped, and I started to cry and my eyelash started coming off," she said.
LaQuatra has been deaf since she was struck by bacterial meningitis as a young child. After several operations, she had a cochlear implant, and she learned once again how to speak and listen at DePaul School in Pittsburgh.
But it was meeting a Miss America pageant winner that changed her life.
"I will be honest with you. I met the first deaf Miss America. She inspired me to do pageants. She told me,'Don't let your disability hold you back,' and to do 'whatever you want' in my life," LaQuatra explained.
As a teenager, she won Miss Pennsylvania Outstanding Teen, a pageant that is part of the Miss America system. LaQuatra finished as second runner-up in the national contest. Then, in the USA pageant system, she won Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA.
Next year, she will compete in the Miss USA pageant. If she wins that, it is on to the Miss Universe Pageant. Through it all, she always remembers the real reason she competes.
"I hope to inspire others who are different, who have disabilities or overcome adversity. I want to be there for them and motivate them just a little bit," she said.
LaQuatra graduated from Point Park University with a bachelor's degree in broadcast communication. She now works for WTAE-TV as part of the 4 the 412 digital media team.
Once her pageant career is over, she hopes to continue in broadcast journalism, covering lifestyles, entertainment and charitable endeavors.
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