MALIKA DUDLEY WILL REPRESENT STATE AT MISS AMERICA PAGEANT
Hilo native Malika Dudley has gone from breaking heads to breaking hearts.
An expert martial artist and Honolulu nightclub bouncer, Dudley also is the
new Miss Hawaii.
The multitalented 23-year-old defeated 11 other contestants en route to winning
the prestigious scholarship pageant held Friday night at Honolulu's Hilton
Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa.
"I feel great," the valedictorian of Hilo High School's Class of 2000 said in a telephone interview Saturday. "It's very surreal. I'm in a state of shock."
Dudley's vocal rendition of the 1930s standard, "Paper Moon," earned her top honors in the talent category, which carries the most weight of the six categories on which contestants are scored.
Dudley, who holds a baccalaureate degree in French and another in speech communication from the University of Hawaii, translated a few versus of the song into French.
wDudley said she picked it because she likes jazz music and feels the genre has a wide audience appeal. She performed another song done by Natalie Cole during last year's Miss Hawaii pageant in which she finished fourth runner-up.
"Honestly, I didn't work on anything. I grew up a little more," Dudley said of her improvement, which she credited to experiences gained from teaching public speech at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and working as a substitute teacher.
"I shined through because of who I am," she said.
Dudley said she was surprised with her win in the swimsuit category. She also topped the academic portion, results of which are not used in picking a Miss Hawaii.
The competition forced her to miss her best friend's wedding. Still, support from friends and family boosted her self-confidence.
"It was a lot easier to believe in myself because I had so many people believing in me," she said.
Among her staunchest supporters are her father, UH-Hilo oceanography professor Walter Dudley, and mother, UH-Hilo French instructor Kamila Dudley.
"She did a wonderful job," Walter Dudley said. "She works very hard. We're so proud of her."
He said there may be more pageant winners to come from the Dudley line.
Emily, 20, is an art student at UH-Hilo, while twins Melanie and Christopher, 15, attend Hilo High School.
But this reign belongs to Malika, who also spends part of her time teaching karate, a marital art she has studied for 17 years.
Her status as a black belt and top-ranked competitor in two national tournaments earned Dudley a job as a bouncer at W and Maharaja, two Honolulu nightclubs.
"I never had any problems," she said when asked about her unusual line of work. "I definitely have to change my demeanor because I'm usually a very smiley person."
That winning smile will prove invaluable during the next year, which Dudley will spend touring the world as Hawaii's honorary hostess.
A participant in both the Hawaii Youth Leadership Program and the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program, she said she'll use the opportunity to promote her platform of helping to mentor children.
"Through my numerous roles as a teacher, I have found that there is a great potential to positively influence and affect the lives of my students," she wrote in her pageant essay. "I strive to be a mentor to them."
Dudley, who'll compete in the Miss America Pageant, will receive her choice of numerous college scholarships and $5,000 to put toward her educational costs. A slew of prizes also will go to her.
While winning the pageant will force Dudley to take a year off from her pursuit of a master's degree in speech communication from the University of Hawaii, she plans to visit this summer and eventually live here to work as a high school teacher or administrator.
"I plan to come back to Hilo," she said. "It's my home."
Jason Armstrong can be reached at <mailto:jarmstrong@hawaiitribune-herald.com>.