ANNAPOLIS, Md. – On September 1, Maryland First Lady Yumi Hogan welcomed Lydia Sohn, Miss Maryland 2021 and the first Korean American to win the title of Miss Maryland, to the Maryland State House.

Joining them were Miss Marylandโ€™s Outstanding Teen 2021, Kate Wills, and local titleholders from across the state who also competed in the Miss Maryland Scholarship Program this year. Lydia will represent Maryland at the national Miss America competition later this year.

โ€œI have so much pride in my heritage as a Korean American, and I believe that Lydia would be an asset to the Miss America Scholarship Program as the first-ever Korean-American Miss America โ€“ especially during this time of increased anti-Asian hate crimes,โ€ said First Lady Hogan. โ€œShe is beautiful inside and out, pursuing her medical degree as a commissioned officer in the Navy, sharing her talent as a trained cellist, volunteering her time for art therapy in the medical arena, and leading the charge on unifying others through her experience bringing diverse groups together.โ€

Sohn interviews First Lady Yumi Hogan in the original Maryland House of Delegates Chamber beside a statue of famous abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

First Lady Yumi Hogan with Miss Maryland 2021, Miss Marylandโ€™s Outstanding Teen 2021, and Miss Maryland Scholarship Organization winners from across the state.