JHOCELLE Frittz Tahanlangit, representing Barangay Iponan, was crowned as the first Miss Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental of New York last February 11 in Astoria World Manor, New York City.
"It was a surreal moment when they announced my name as the first Miss Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental of New York. It took a while to sink in because everything went so fast during the coronation. It was a humbling experience to be crowned as I now represent the organization, especially the youth of CDO and MisOr living here in New York," Tahanlangit said, as she described her reaction and experience upon winning the crown.
The 20-year-old beauty queen, who grew up in Barangay Iponan, also thanked the people who supported her such as her family, friends and relatives living in New York and in the Philippines.
Miss Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental (CDO-MisOr) of New York 2018 is a beauty pageant, participated by Cagayan de Oro City and Misamis Oriental immigrants, organized by the CDO-MisOr Association of New York.
Tahanlangit, a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies graduate from Liceo de Cagayan University, said that as the representative of the CDO-MisOr organization, she will try her best "to reach out not only to the Kagay-anons but to all Filipino people" in New York.
"I hope and pray that I would be able to use my voice with the youth in today's generation so we can be a productive member of CDO-MisOr of New York and in general as well," Tahanlangit said.
She also said she has plans to start her projects, such as inviting youth with roots in CDO and MisOr who were born and raised in New York to visit the said city and province, and "to work with the CDO-MisOr organization for future projects like Tapok Cagayan."
The Tapok Cagayan, according to Tahanlangit, is a project "that will help the Kagay-anons, especially the youth, to unite and build a foundation for the better future."
She also encouraged the youth to face the problems and challenges in life, have faith in God, to not give up on their dreams and to believe in their selves.
"To the youth, we can do this. We can make our world a better place to live if we start doing things that will help us become a productive member of our society," Tahanlangit said.
Tahanlangit has been staying in New York City for seven months as she was planning "to study next semester in the field of Real Estate" although, she added that she is still in the process of choosing which school to attend.
"I am still weighing which school to choose. The universities here are very prestigious for me not to like them, so as this moment I am still weighing my options," Tahanlangit said.