Miss Universe Ireland 2019, at the age of 26, is already creating a change in history with her winning title, as the first woman of color to wear the crown. Despite the fact that she was not one of the finalists in the Miss Universe 2019 competition she has already set a path for others to follow.
Fionnghuala O'Reilly grew up with an African American mother and an Irish father. This cultural and diverse background created a passion to strive for a better future, and today O'Reilly is not only a beauty pageant titleholder but as well an engineer for NASA.
Fionnghuala O'Reilly is working on NASA's Datanaut program within the space agency's Open Innovation program, and also works remotely out of Dublin as the executive director of the NASA Space Apps Challenge.
Juggling two completely different career choices and excelling in both, Miss Universe Ireland 2019 is inspiring other young girls to pursue their dream profession and discover what is available to them.
She specifically wants to impact those students interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) program. As a female in her professional field of engineering, she is a minority and has experienced why it is so important for women to break through glass ceilings. Moreover, Miss O'Reilly has launched a social media campaign known as #ReachForTheStars and has used her fame for a chance to inspire others.
“It’s very exciting and I think it marks a change,” she states. “It is the very first time in Ireland where there’s an entire generation of young people that have diverse backgrounds just like me, and it’s something that is new” Fionnghuala O’Reilly commented on People Magazine.
SEE FIONNGHUALA O’REILLY’S INSTAGRAM HERE!
In addition to Miss O’Reilly’s accomplishments, for the first time in history, 5 other strong black female women have won major beauty pageants including Miss World, Miss USA, Miss America, Miss Teen USA, and Miss Universe. Competitions have evolved and have brought diversity onto the platforms, opening the doors and encouraging young women that anything is possible with hard work. Read more about it in the New York Times.
Grainne Gallanagh, former Miss Ireland passed on her crown to Miss. Fionnghuala O’Reilly and they were photographed by VSP Studios-Victor Sanabrais Photographer at the Gates Hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, wearing swimwear provided by Bikini On Demand.