Genesis Suero became an American citizen just ten years ago and in 2018 she became queen of New York by winning the “miss New York Beauty pageant.
“I love my city,” said the 26-year-old Harlem resident who was crowned Miss New York 2018 after beating out a group of 133 contestants last January. Genesis went on to represent the state in the Miss USA pageant later that year. “It’s the American dream. I wasn’t born here, and now look where I am.” Said the young beauty.
Genesis moved from the Dominican Republic to Cypress Hills, Brooklyn, with her father, a cab driver, in 2005.
“I remember watching TV in the Dominican Republic in 2002, and I saw one of the contestants for Miss Universe, and I said, this is what I want to do. This is what I want to be. This is going to be my career.”
But it’s her other career that has proved an excellent training ground for the pageant world.
For the past six years, Suero has worked as a male-skincare specialist at Bloomingdale’s flagship 5th Avenue store. “English is not my first language,” she said, “but when I work I always talk to everybody in English” — doing this has clearly boosted her confidence and public speaking, which helps her on stage.
Two of her regular customers even sponsored her bid for the crown after hearing she was entering the pageant. “They saw these things … in me, and they didn’t hesitate to invest,” she said.
She has an incredibly packed schedule, as the beauty queen is also wrapping up her bachelor’s degree as a business management major at Hostos Community College. Genesis has her pageant prep down to a science. She wakes up at 5:45 a.m., and has a complete breakfast to help fuel her busy days.
“I have the gift of being skinny, petite, so I must take care of what I have,” she said. That means workouts at grueling boot-camp gyms,
She even ran the 2017 New York City marathon. The famous race helped deepen her love of the city.
“My favorite part of the marathon is the Verrazano Bridge,” she said. “Oh my God, beautiful!”
The one thing that Suero doesn’t have time for is dating. “I have a lot of admirers, but I’m so busy,” she said. “I get invited to dates, and I wish I could go, but I can’t.” For now, she said, “I’d rather be alone, working on me.”
Genesis sees the pageants as her chance to empower those around her.
“I really want to share the gift that God has gifted me,” she said. “He hasn’t gifted me financially, but he has gifted me a very amazing personality. I can make people laugh and I can make them happy, and if you can do that you don’t need money.”
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