Alumna Named Miss America First Runner-up

UT Dallas alumna Annette Addo-Yobo BS’20 has been named the first runner-up in the 2025 Miss America Pageant. Currently Miss Texas, Addo-Yobo has spent the last several months traveling the state for appearances and preparing for the Miss America Pageant.

Previously crowned Miss Southlake and Miss Dallas in state regional pageants that led to the Miss Texas Pageant, Addo-Yobo finished second to Abbie Stockard, Miss Alabama, in the Miss America Pageant in Orlando, Florida. As Miss Texas, she was recognized as the first foreign-born immigrant to win the Miss Texas title. Born in the West African nation of Ghana, Addo-Yobo immigrated to Canada and later the United States as a youngster with her family, becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2022.

When asked by Miss America judges for her thoughts about immigration, Addo-Yobo described her family coming to America with “two suitcases, a few hundred dollars and a little girl, which was me, in a fur coat.”

Competing for Miss America, Addo-Yobo performed a spoken word presentation about autism awareness for the talent portion of the competition. She talked about the difficulties that the autistic face, including her brother, and the problems caretakers face when dealing with the lack of understanding about the condition.

As someone with multiple college degrees, Addo-Yobo also talks frequently about the power of education. She earned her bachelor’s degree from UT Dallas in 2020, followed by a master’s from Sam Houston State University. Temporarily on hold while serving as Miss Texas, she is also midway through completing an MBA from Lamar University and plans to attend law school.