Brianna Vega, a University of Rhode Island alumna and registered nurse with Brown University Health, is the new Miss Rhode Island USA. The Providence native and first-generation college graduate will represent the Ocean State at the Miss USA pageant on Oct. 24 in Reno, Nevada.
Vega, who graduated from URI in 2019 as a Talent Development scholar, follows in the footsteps of Olivia Culpo, the Rhode Islander who won Miss USA and Miss Universe in 2012. If successful later this month, Vega would become just the second national title holder from Rhode Island since the pageant began in 1952.
Winning did not come easy. Vega competed in three previous Miss Rhode Island USA pageants between 2021 and 2023, reaching the top 15, top five, and finishing as third runner-up before finally capturing the crown on her fourth attempt this past May. Her victory was made all the more significant with Susan Curran, Culpo’s mother, serving as a judge.
Vega’s path to the stage began when she watched Culpo’s rise in 2012 and decided to try for herself. At 17, she entered Miss Rhode Island Teen USA and placed as second runner-up. She paused pageant competition to pursue her education, inspired by her father’s health challenges to become a nurse. Though she initially struggled with test scores, she was accepted into URI’s nursing program through the Talent Development initiative and went on to thrive academically and socially, including serving as president of the Latin American Students Association.
Her journey back to pageantry was sparked during the COVID-19 pandemic when a patient encouraged her to continue competing. Balancing her career in health care with the demands of pageant preparation, she refined her approach and returned with a focus on resilience and representation.
In addition to her role as a nurse in obstetrics and gynecology, Vega mentors with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Rhode Island. She now has her sights set on Reno, where she hopes to add her name to the state’s pageant history.
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