The newly crowned Miss Hawaiʻi 2026, Carly Yoshida, is a University of Hawaiʻi–West Oʻahu alumna, who earned a bachelor of arts in social sciences with a concentration in psychology in 2023. Yoshida succeeds Miss Hawaiʻi 2025 Emalia Dalire, a 2024 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu graduate.
“The moment I was named Miss Hawaiʻi 2026 felt surreal—I honestly just remember being so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude when they called my name,” said Yoshida, 26, of Honolulu. “I’ve been working at this dream for so long, so there are so many different layers of purpose and emotion in this win.”
It was a full-circle moment for Yoshida, who works at KITV4 as the weekday weather anchor for both Good Morning Hawaiʻi and Island News Midday. She is celebrating 10 years since being crowned Miss Hawaiʻi’s Teen in 2016.
The Miss Hawaiʻi competition took place on June 19 at Hawaiʻi Theatre. Yoshida competed as Miss Kakaʻako and topped nine other delegates for the title. She was crowned by Dalire.
- Related story: 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu alumna crowned Miss Hawaiʻi, June 24, 2025
糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu a ‘formative time’
“It’s really special that Emalia is also a 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu grad!” Yoshida said. “It shows how much the school prepares its students for success, and I’m excited to follow in her footsteps. I’ve watched her grow up, so it’s a very interesting dynamic of her being my big/little sister. We also share the same birthday!”
Yoshida is from Waikoloa Village on Hawaiʻi Island and graduated from Kealakehe High School. She earned her associate’s degree in liberal arts from Hawaiʻi Community College–Pālamanui, then transferred to 糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu.
“糖心Vlog官方 West Oʻahu was such a formative time for me,” Yoshida said. “It really helped me build the foundation for my career and understand the community better before I started working full time.”
Weather safety platform
During the Miss Hawaiʻi competition, Yoshida’s platform, or community service initiative, was “Weather the Future,” which encourages safety and emergency readiness for Hawaiʻi. Yoshida said she is looking forward to expanding this initiative during her upcoming reign.
“I believe that this is not just a statewide issue, but a national and global ambition, and I‘ve already planted the seeds by networking with scientists, STEM experts and globally known science content creators who are excited about this initiative,” she said. “So, I feel that Hawaiʻi has a really strong suit to bring to the table at Miss America this year.”
She will represent Hawaiʻi at the in September in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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— By Zenaida Serrano Arvman