Miss England Jessica Gagen stands out as a unique beauty pageant winner, having recently earned an impressive title to her name: rocket scientist.
At 27 years old, Jessica, a recent graduate of the University of Liverpool with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, aspires to become an astronaut, as The Manchester Evening News reported.
Just a few months before completing her degree, her journey to winning the title wasn’t without challenges for this determined redhead from Kelmersdale. Jessica proudly holds the distinction of being the first ginger-haired Miss England and the first rocket scientist to claim the crown.
The journey to her degree
While participating in the competition alongside her academic commitments, Gagen faced a demanding schedule that took a toll on her well-being, causing chest pains and insomnia. Yet, as noted by The Daily Mail, she displayed the same resilience she had during her childhood when she endured bullying due to her red hair.
Reflecting on her journey, Gagen shared with The Daily Mail, “The path to reaching this point was a challenging five-year endeavor, and I encountered hurdles from the very start. I believe it’s vital for today’s youth to understand that sometimes, things may not go as planned, and that’s completely acceptable.”
Prior to enrolling in university, Gagen pursued a foundation year in physics, balancing her studies with weekend work since the required courses were not readily available. Her university journey began in 2019, coinciding with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which prompted a shift to online coursework. Meanwhile, she continued to work full-time during night hours.
Reflecting on that period, she shared, “I would return home after work to attend the day’s online lectures and complete assignments, and this cycle would repeat. I was consistently exhausted, but as a mature student, I had financial responsibilities to meet.”
Becoming Miss England
While pursuing her studies, Gagen noticed the underrepresentation of women in STEM fields and made it her mission to use her social media platform to advocate for science careers among women and girls. Her efforts in this regard eventually caught the attention of scouts for the Miss England contest.
In her first year, she achieved the title of Miss Lancashire and secured second place in the national contest. However, she was determined to win to further her mission of promoting engineering among girls. She expressed, “There’s a lot of work that goes into becoming Miss England, and I really wanted to win because I knew I could use the platform to get more girls into engineering.”
In 2022, Gagen was accepted into an integrated Master’s program and decided to reenter the Miss England pageant. This time, she emerged as the winner, describing her feelings as “ecstatic” while life became more hectic.
Due to time constraints, she returned to a bachelor’s program but plans to pursue a master’s degree later. Currently, as Miss England, she visits schools to speak about STEM and aspires to become “the first beauty queen in space.”
Gagen will represent England in the Miss World competition in December 2023, where she aims to spread her empowering mission on a global scale.
