GABRIELA TAVERAS

Miss Massachusetts 2018

Professional Recruiter, Insight Global

Age: 23

Heritage: Dominican, Haitian, Chinese

Notable Accomplishments:

First Black Miss Massachusetts
Miss America:
- Fourth Runner Up at Miss America 2019
- Preliminary interview and OSQ winner
- STEM award
- People's Choice
- 2x swimsuit preliminary winner
Youth of the Year Award by Lawrence Exchange Club
Adelante Scholar
Montagne Scholar
Dean's List
Youngest person to be given the key to the City of Lawrence

Gabriela Taveras is the first Black Miss Massachusetts ever. A graduate from Emmanuel College, she obtained her bachelor’s in biology with a concentration in Neuroscience.

As a senior at Emmanuel College studying Biology with a concentration in Neuroscience and a minor in English: Communications + Media Studies, she understood early on that in order to help others she needed to first take the time to understand what it is that the world needed from her.

This inspired her to travel to South Africa and Swaziland to work in an orphanage, study the culture, and work with the people in the villages. She focused heavily on individuals with HIV/AIDs and met with organizations to discuss and strategize ways that she could get involved as an outsider. After many discussions, she discovered that there was a greater need in political reform which inspired her to add political science to her academic curriculum.

Gabriela traveled to Greece where she stayed for a month studying international relations and geopolitics from Greek politicians and doctors. By traveling the world, she has learned to see the world for the good and the bad, but has made the personal decision to dedicate her life to contributing to the good.

Through mentorship programs and community service, she has worked with women and children in homeless shelters serving as a liaison and someone they can confide in. She has been able to personally work with rape victims and guide them through the process of working past the trauma.

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