Last night a new Miss USA was crowned. She is, incidentally, an attorney based out of North Carolina. Here’s what to know about winner Cheslie Kryst.
1. She works for the Poyner Spruill Law Firm
The 28-year-old works for the Poyner Spruill law firm in North Carolina. Kryst received her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina, then moved on to get a law degree and MBA from Wake Forest University, according to her Miss University biography.
2. Kryst represents Miss America Nia Franklin
She focuses on civil litigation, but has also done pro bono work reducing sentences for inmates. Kryst has been in the pageant scene for year, and this actually led to a friendship with reigning Miss America Nia Franklin, according to a profile in The Charlotte Observer. They met back in 2015, when Kryst was Miss Metrolina.
Franklin said Kryst supported her in pageants, and gave her a peptalk when Franklin lost an attempt to become Miss Thomasville. That friendship continued when she won Miss America. She reached out Kryst to serve as her attorney to help her deal with contracts.
“She just is a force,” Franklin said. “The confidence and the poise she exudes. She’s a very smart, intelligent woman, and why wouldn’t you want a friend or lawyer like that?”
3. What’s Next?
If she lost, Kryst was going to try to buy a house in the Charlotte, keep working at the law firm, continue her fashion blog, and become even more involved in her community, according to the Observer profile.
Well, she won. The plan now was to put pause on her law career while she moves to New York City.
Next stop: the pageant for Miss Universe 2019.
[Screengrab via Miss USA]