Simply Elevate August 2014 | Page 8

Agnes Liong is not your typical 23 year old beauty queen. As a child she would have never imagined that she would become the reigning Miss Germany International and past winner of Miss San Francisco Beauties of the Nation. Agnes is originally from Indonesia but, due to a political war in the country, she moved to Germany as a child. Upon graduation, she then relocated to America to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Finance & Marketing at California State University. Agnes is fluent in three languages: English, German, and Indonesian. When she is not modeling or competing in pageants, she works as a financial planner. When Agnes attended school in Germany, she was bullied for being the only Asian and for having such a petite frame. She found the courage and inner strength to start modeling and entering beauty pageants in the USA about five years ago. She not only wanted to prove everyone wrong but she believed that “just because other people are different, that doesn’t mean that you can treat them with no respect. Every individual is unique, and every individual matters.” Her platform for pageants is an anti-bullying campaign called ‘Stand Up 2 Bullying’. She is part of the Utterly Global Youth Empowerment program, which is a nonprofit group that educates children and adults with bullying prevention programs. Agnes visits local schools and educates them on the harsh statistics and provides anti-bullying tools and techniques. You can support her and donate to her cause at: http://www.gofundme.com/StandUp2Bullying Agnes is also a successful model. She began modeling about five years ago, but standing at only 5 foot 3 inches, she has faced challenges being petite. However, with hard work and determination she has been published as a model in Zele Magazine, Giuseppina Magazine, Petite Magnifique Magazine, and several others despite her height. She would love to be a future Miss Universe and open her own modeling agency that would represent various talents across the globe. Agnes is a real role model and inspires young girls to consider themselves beautiful regardless of their height or size. She thinks the fashion industry has “the responsibility to depict inclusivity as well as celebrate each other’s unique differences and flaws. How boring and monotone would the world be if everyone was perfect?” To learn more about Agnes, you can visit her at the links below: Website: ttp://agnesliong.com/ h Email:     [email protected] Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nesnez20  Twitter:     https://twitter.com/empress_agnes Instagram: http://instagram.com/agnes_nesnez Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/agnes-liong 8 www.simplyelevate.com Photos by: Albert Apicella