Kollyn Muangmaithong
Our 2005 Legacy
20th Annual Miss Asian America Pageant
A New Era of Leadership
Meet Our 2005
Queen and Court

About the Reign
Kollyn Muangamaithong was crowned Miss Asian America August 6 at the Palace of Fine Arts. A 22-year-old ballet dancer with the Oakland Ballet Academy, she was also awarded the title of Miss Talent.
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Joining her court were Carolyn Michaelis (1st Princess), Shana Dhillon (2nd Princess), Kara Birkenstock (3rd Princess/Miss Community Service), Linda Phung (Miss Congeniality) and Masae Nakayama (Miss Scholastic Achievement).
For this 20th annual event, AsianWeek also spoke with Rose Chung, founder, and Mona Lee Locke, the 1987 Miss Asian America, about their experiences as part of the Asian America Pageant in the United States.
Chung said it “was something to be proud of” in having one of the longest running Asian America pageants. “I can’t believe that twenty years have passed by. I think we are now an institution, well respected. We have established a reputation of having high integrity and ethics in our pageant. That’s our strong point and that’s what we are most proud of.”
When asked how she viewed the pageant 18 years after running in it herself, Locke replied: “It has evolved somewhat. I am very proud of the pageant and what a great job Rose Chung has done. It focuses on the Asian culture, bringing out the importance of all the cultures and having people learning about the cultures.”
Locke was also pleased about the platform each contestant has to take on. “It focuses the girls to think about issues. Once they are in the Miss Asian America one, we at least know that they are going to have to think about why they are doing it. We know that they are going to have depth and have intelligence.”
Kollyn Muangmaithong
Miss Asian America
- Carolyn Michaelis, First Princess & Miss Asian California
- Shana Dhillon, Second Princess & Miss Asian San Francisco
- Kara Birkenstock, Third Princess & Miss Community Service
- Masae Nakayama, Miss Scholastic Achievement
- Linda Phung, Miss Congeniality
- Michele Chen, Miss Asian Teen
Pageant Night and Activities
Treasured Memories
Photography by Tyler Vu, Michael Trinh, & Penny Wong Belleza
Each Delegate has a Story to Share
Meet the Delegates
Legacy Keepsakes
Commemorate Pageant Night
Saturday, August 6, 2005
Palace of Fine Arts
San Francisco, CA
Andrea Chen
Taiwanese · Age: 24 · Plano, TX
April Centeno
Filipino · Age: 23 · Honolulu, HI
Carolyn Michaelis
Indonesian, German, & Dutch · Age: 23 · San Jose, CA
Christine Lee
Korean · Age: 26 · San Francisco, CA
Cindy Pham
Vietnamese · Age: 19 · Phoenix, AZ
Dong Park
Korean · Age: 22 · Berkeley, CA
Gerlynn Amurao
Filipino · Age: 25 · Scarsdale, NY
Grace Chen
Chinese · Age: 17 · Burlingame, CA
Grace Kim
Korean · Age: 21 · Marietta, GA
Jaclyn Lee
Chinese · Age: 27 · Honolulu, HI
Jessica Rae
Filipino · Age: 20 · San Francisco, CA
Kara Birkenstock
Thai And Filipino · Age: 25 · Culver City, CA
Kollyn Muangmaithong
Thai & Chinese · Age: 22 · Walnut Creek, CA
Lena Wong
Chinese · Age: 19 · San Francisco, CA
Linda Phung
Vietnamese & Chinese · Age: 20 · San Francisco, CA
Mai Ly Duong
Vietnamese · Age: 19 · Peoria, AZ
Maria Truong
Chinese · Age: 23 · Alhambra, CA
Masae Nakayama
Taiwanese & Japanese · Age: 24 · Kapolei, HI
Michele Chen
Taiwanese · Age: 17 · San Jose, CA
Michelle Pruna
Filipino · Age: 21 · Las Vegas, NV
Pauline Liu
Chinese · Age: 26 · Long Beach, CA
Rosa Budagyan
Armenian · Age: 19 · Daly City, CA
Shana Dhillon
Indian · Age: 18 · Fremont, CA
Vieni Vitale
Samoan & Chinese · Age: 21 · Honolulu, HI