Angela Perez Baraquio Grey (born June 1, 1976), known professionally by her birth name of Angela Perez Baraquio, is an American educator. She was crowned Miss America 2001 on October 14, 2000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the first Asian American, first

Filipino American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

, and first teacher ever to win the pageant. A politically conservative, anti-abortion Catholic, Baraquio has been publicly active in supporting various

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politicians and in speaking out against abortion. She is also an educator whose platform as Miss America was

character education Character education is an umbrella term loosely used to describe the teaching of children and adults in a manner that will help them develop variously as moral, civic, good, mannered, behaved, non-bullying, healthy, critical, successful, traditiona ...

. Since 2004, Baraquio has co-hosted the Hawaiian television show ''Living Local with the Baraquios''.

Early life and education

She is the eighth of ten children (sixth of seven girls) born to an immigrant couple from Pangasinan,

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. One of her sisters is Hawaiian media personality Bernadette Baraquio Hamada whose husband is Hawaiian

conservative talk radio Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...

show host and columnist, Rick Hamada. Baraquio graduated from Moanalua High School in June 1994 '' magna cum laude''. After graduation, she attended the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

at Manoa where she graduated in May 1999 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education with an emphasis on speech. Baraquio earned her master's degree in educational administration from the University of Hawaii in December 2004. During her year as Miss America in 2001, Baraquio's platform was

Pageant participation

Baraquio was Miss Hawaii 2000. Subsequently, she was crowned Miss America 2001 on October 14, 2000 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the first Asian American, first

, and first teacher ever to win the pageant. She helped host the

Miss America 2002 Miss America 2002, the 75th Miss America pageant, was televised live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 22, 2001, on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC Network. The pageant was won by Katie Harman of Miss ...

pageant. She has appeared as a panelist on MTV's ''Pageant School: Becoming Miss America'' and on the conservative talk show, ''

Hannity ''Hannity'' is an American conservative television political talk program on Fox News hosted by Sean Hannity. Episodes air live at 9:00 p.m. from Monday through Thursday, while episodes that air on Fridays are pre-recorded, with a repeat ...

'', of the Fox News Channel.

Career

From August 1999 to June 2000, Baraquio was a faculty member at Holy Family Catholic Academy in the Salt Lake subdivision of Honolulu. She taught physical education, was athletic director and coached basketball, volleyball and track. Baraquio was also choir director of the historic St. Augustine Church in

Waikiki Waikiki (; haw, Waikīkī; ; also known as Waikiki Beach) is a neighborhood of Honolulu on the south shore of the island of Oahu in the U.S. state of Hawaii. Waikiki is most famous for Waikiki Beach, which is one of six beaches in the district ...

. In 2015 Baraquio was appointed principal of St. Anthony of Padua School in

Gardena, California Gardena is a city located in the South Bay region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 58,829 at the 2010 census, up from 57,746 at the 2000 census. Until 2014, the US census cited the City of Gardena as the plac ...

. Baraquio has worked as a celebrity spokesperson for

First Hawaiian Bank First Hawaiian, Inc. is a bank holding company headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii. Its principal subsidiary, First Hawaiian Bank, founded in 1858, is Hawaii’s oldest and largest financial institution headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the Firs ...

First Hawaiian Center First Hawaiian Center is the second tallest building in the U.S. state of Hawaii and the city of Honolulu, the largest city in the state. It is the world corporate headquarters of First Hawaiian Bank, the oldest and largest bank based in Hawaii. ...

, and the Four Seasons hotel in Hawaii. Baraquio and her family live in Anaheim,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Political views and activity

In 2001, Baraquio participated as Miss America in the

National Prayer Breakfast The National Prayer Breakfast is a yearly event held in Washington, D.C., usually on the first Thursday in February. The founder of this event was Abraham Vereide. The event—which is actually a series of meetings, luncheons, and dinners—has ...

in Washington, D.C., and was acknowledged by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

in his remarks. Bush said, "Angela, it's wonderful to see you again. Thank you for your testimony and your beauty and your grace." In June 2006, President Bush appointed Baraquio to the

President's Council on Service and Civic Participation The President's Council on Service and Civic Participation was created by U.S. President George W. Bush in January 2003 by executive order. Its mission is to encourage volunteerism and to recognize the contributions Americans make through serv ...

, where she served until November 2008. In 2003, Baraquio hosted a series of television shows for Governor

Linda Lingle Linda Lingle (''née'' Cutter; June 4, 1953) is an American politician, who was the sixth governor of Hawaii from 2002 until 2010. She was the first Republican governor of Hawaii since 1962. Lingle was also the state's first female and first J ...

( R- HI), called ''Talk Story with Your Administration'', showcasing activities and individuals of the Lingle Administration. She was one of Senator

Sam Brownback Samuel Dale Brownback (born September 12, 1956) is an American attorney, politician, diplomat, and member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party who served as the United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Fr ...

's (R- KS) earliest and most prominent supporters in the 2008 Republican presidential primary season. She formally joined the Brownback campaign December 14, 2006, and served on his

presidential exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

, where her main task was promoting the conservative Kansas senator in her native Hawaii. She said she was drawn to the senator's strong opposition to

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. Baraquio said, "As a Catholic, I am proud to support this wonderful man who believes in the sanctity of every human life." On January 20, 2007, Baraquio introduced Brownback at his presidential campaign kick-off event in Kansas. In her remarks, Baraquio said Brownback "is a man we can trust to take our values to the White House." Brownback withdrew from the presidential race on October 19, 2007, before any primary contests. Baraquio remains active in speaking out against abortion. CMG Booking an agency which specializes in booking prominent conservative Catholics for public speaking engagements, books Baraquio for events. On her page on CMG's website, Baraquio lists "Pro-life issues" among her speaking topics.

Media appearances

*Appeared as a guest on the '' Late Show with David Letterman'' *Appeared as a panelist on ESPN's '' 2 Minute Drill'' *Appeared on ''Behind Closed Doors with Joan Lunden'' on A&E *Game show participant on ** '' Wheel of Fortune'' ** ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show Television pilot, piloted on NBC in 1965 and the regular series debut ...

'' ** ''Pyramid''

References

External links

Official website

Biography
at Miss America Organization *
''Living Local with the Baraquios'' Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baraquio, Angela Perez 1976 births Living people American anti-abortion activists American women's basketball coaches American sportspeople of Filipino descent American volleyball coaches George W. Bush administration personnel Hawaii Republicans Miss America 2001 delegates Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Miss America winners People from Anaheim, California Sportspeople from Honolulu People from Pangasinan American politicians of Filipino descent University of Hawaiʻi alumni Women in Hawaii politics Female sports coaches Catholics from California Catholics from Hawaii Asian conservatism in the United States