When they called my name as Miss Ohio USA 2025, I covered my mouth and wept. Nothing could have prepared me for the rush of emotion. My life, my fight, my diagnosis, my scars, my surgeries, and the 50/50 odds doctors gave me. Every version of me, the little girl who dreamed, the patient who fought for her life, the woman who refused to give up, met in one moment of pure relief and joy.
The crown I earned belongs to every fighter who has felt unseen. Every dreamer who has wondered if their story mattered. Every person who has questioned whether there’s a place for them in a world where they’ve never seen themselves represented.
I was born with Heterotaxy Syndrome, a rare disease. I’ve had four life-threatening abdominal surgeries, leaving me with an 8.5-inch scar. There has never been a Miss USA with a visible scar like this. There has never been one with a rare disease. That changes now.
I’m not your “typical” titleholder, and that’s exactly the point. This journey is about breaking the mold wide open, about showing up real, raw, scarred, and strong. It’s about proving that when one of us wins, we all rise.
Now, I have the chance to take this fight for representation, resilience, and hope to the national stage at Miss USA. But I can’t do it alone. I didn’t achieve Miss Ohio alone. You stood with me. While it goes against every fiber of my being, I’m asking for your help once again. The costs of competing, wardrobe, travel, assistance with daily looks—are significant, exceeding $6000. If I’m being honest, I did not anticipate the expenses. I am responsible for that week’s attire, a headshot, state costume, interview attire, any and all accessories, hair and makeup, $2000 for the gown (a significant portion of it was covered), the cost of getting my luggage there, and I’m sure other things I can’t even wrap my brain around at the moment.
Your support will help me not just compete, but carry this message to the biggest stage of my life. Every contribution, big or small, is part of this mission to prove that scars deserve crowns, and that beauty has no mold.
If you believe in breaking barriers, in the power of resilience, and in creating space where it’s been missing, stand with me once again. Our time is now.
With all my heart,
Hannah Klein
Miss Ohio USA 2025