Pocatello native named Miss Idaho
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- Ayriss Torres is a student at Idaho State University, a civil affairs specialist in the US Army Reserves, and this year's Miss Idaho.
Torres first started in the circuit in 2015.
"A previous Miss Idaho, her name is Nina Forrest, her mom had actually come up to my mom when I was in middle school and told my mom that I could earn some college scholarships if I wanted to compete in a Miss America local pageant. So I did my first local in 2015, and I lost. I didn't win anything at all, I came back a couple of months later cause I was hooked on it. I absolutely loved the connections I made, and what it did for me and my confidence.
The rest is history.
Torres has held the titles of Miss Gate City's Outstanding Teen, the second runner-up at Miss Idaho's Outstanding Teen, Miss Gate City, and Miss Bonneville County.
That perseverance has helped her at ISU.
"I'm currently a political science and pre-law student with a minor in finance, I'm a loan officer as well. So finance is also a really big part of my life," Torres said.
Such a big role, that her social impact initiative is all about making sure high schoolers are financially literate.
She has no plans to quit her job, which is what most winners do, so they can travel the state.
Instead, she's making a lot of her appearances via Zoom.
That's on top of being a Reservist in the US Army Reserves.
"I have been in the US Army for about two and a half years now, I absolutely love my unit down in Salt Lake," Torres said "My job is very different from the rest of the military. So I'm under the special operations umbrella, and I get to coordinate relief efforts to Asian Pacific countries, specifically after war and natural disasters and things like that."
Those aren't the only things that make Torres special. At 5 foot 5 and a size 10, she stands out in a good way.
It's all part of the changes the Miss America Organization has made over the past few years, Torres said.
"It puts so much more emphasis on what we're doing for our communities, what we're doing for ourselves, and it's preparing us to be great women, not just be beautiful women," Torres said "And I'm really excited that I personally get to be a part of that and show my community that it's not all about beauty and it's not about your size or how you look wearing a bikini. I think being a woman, and a modern woman is so much more about the success that you make for yourself. And no one else gets to determine that for you."
Torres will be representing Idaho at the Miss America pageant in December.
