Southeast student represents China in the 2008 Olympic Games

After six months and over 50 competitions with more than 1 million other young women, Yaoyun Kang was named Miss China 2008 at 19 years old.

Kang, referred to as Karen by her classmates and teachers, is now a 23-year-old senior mass media major at Southeast Missouri State University with an emphasis in video production. She came to Southeast in August of 2009 to pursue what will be her second degree. Her first is a degree in film and performing art from Sichuan Normal University in Chengdu, Sichuan, China, located in southwest China.

Kang said that unlike the scholarship competitions in the United States where each year a new queen is crowned, this specific competition for Miss China only took place in 2008. The Chinese Olympic Games Committee held the competition so that the woman crowned Miss China could represent the country of China in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing by walking a team out during the opening ceremony.

Sichuan Normal's president chose 30 students to represent the university in the competition. All 30 of the young women competed in eight to 10 competitions in the capital of the Sichuan Province with 500 to 600 girls from other universities. Three or four girls from each of China's 23 provinces were chosen to travel to Beijing where they competed for three months.

"That was my honor to do it, to represent my university to do it," Kang said about why she chose to compete. "And if I win it, I can represent China by participating in the Olympic Games, so that's why I wanted to do it."

More than 50 competitions were completed during the process. Some of the competitions included swimwear, Chinese traditional dress, interviews and a competition where the young women could choose to either dance or sing.

Kang believes the singing competition was one of the reasons she won the Miss China title.

"I won the competition, I think there are two reasons. One, my coach, he was in charge of those girls and he liked me a lot, and he helped me a lot about this competition. And another reason is that I am very good at Chinese opera. I think this is important. And I'm so friendly with friends, so I think this is pretty much why I win this."

After being named Miss China, another monumental event happened in Kang's life and in the country of China. An earthquake measuring a magnitude of 7.9 hit Sichuan Province in May of 2008. The earthquake killed approximately 70,000 people, injured more than 374,000 and more than 18,000 are still missing and presumed dead.

A swimsuit competition was one of the 50 competitions Kang completed. - Submitted photos

Kang and her family were unharmed by the catastrophe, but she was not going to be able to travel to Beijing to participate in the opening ceremony because Sichuan Normal closed down so students could not leave and no one could come in.

The Olympic Committee granted Kang permission to leave the university, and it was then that one of the assistant directors of the games bought a ticket for her to fly to Beijing to begin preparing for the opening ceremony.

"We practiced, practiced, over and over again before the opening ceremony," Kang said.

She said the performers spent three months preparing for the ceremony. She admits that the time spent on the ceremony was "ridiculous," but it definitely paid off.

"To be honest, the whole process for the opening ceremony is perfect," Kang said. "That is just because everybody prepares very well for that."

After the immense amount of preparation, the day finally came. The girls who led the teams into the stadium had to wake up at 5 a.m. to get dressed and prepare for the ceremony. Around 8 p.m. the ceremony began, and Kang said her excitement just kept rising.

The athletes walking with her and in front of her were all taking pictures with her, and she said she hid her camera in her dress because no one was allowed to have cameras while walking out.

"I was feeling just so excited," Kang said. "I was like a monkey jumping around."

Kang led the country of Lebanon into the stadium during the ceremony. She held a sign identifying the country. She said she couldn't have felt more proud during that moment, just knowing she was representing China.

The perks of winning the competition were not just limited to being a part of the Olympics.

"After becoming Miss China, I think it's probably easier than someone else to find a job in China," Kang said. "And the Beijing television, they asked me to work for them, and Hong Kong television also gave me an opportunity to work in Hong Kong."

But Kang was eager to study in the US and has yet to have her fill of American life. She said she is applying to graduate schools.

"In this semester, I am applying to three universities, like master's schools, in Texas, around Dallas, Houston, that area," Kang said. "So that's one of my goals. After I graduate [from Southeast], I will go to a master school or work for a Chinese television in America or find a job in Disney or California."

Kang will graduate in May after more than two years at Southeast. She has made a lot of friends during that time and has grown close to some of her professors. She was emotional when she talked about what she would miss about Southeast.

"You know, I spent two years in this university," Kang said. "Those two years, like time flies. There's so many people that helped me a lot. No matter, moving my stuff or teaching me English. Everything, they taught me everything. So, I really appreciate those people that helped me."

For a video interview and a photo gallery of Yaoyun Kang, visit southeastArrow.com