Glendale resident Monica Zaragoza was awarded the Ms. California 2018 title by the Ms. America Pageant.

The mission of the pageant is to celebrate the accomplishments of women, encourage them to be involved in community service and use the “crown for a purpose” to make a difference.

Zaragoza is a private investigator and the owner of Synergy Investigative Services. She has served at several events in her community including volunteering at the Midnight Mission in Los Angeles on Thanksgiving and Christmas 2017 and with Toys for Tots with the Glendale Fire Dept. and the City of Glendale 2017. Zaragoza is a marathon runner and has run several events for charity. She is currently training to run a half marathon for St. Jude Children’s Hospital that will be held in Nashville, Tennessee in April 2018.

Her platform in the pageant is “Positive Mind, Body and Soul.” She is inspiring young girls and women to believe in themselves, love who they are and to never give up. She will be sharing her personal story to empower and mentor young girls and women and give them the tools that are needed to stay motivated and lead a healthy and happy life.

The pageant is open to women 26 years of age and older. Title assignment was made after contestants submitted an application and photo, which were then followed up by a phone interview. Twenty-five finalists from across the United States competed in interview, sportswear, evening gown and on-stage interview.

“Monica Zaragoza left a positive impression on our judges and we are thrilled to have her representing California at the 2018 Ms. America Pageant finals this March,” said Susan Jeske, Pageant CEO.

The Ms. America Pageant will be held on March 10 on the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Red carpet starts at 6:30 p.m. and the pageant starts at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets will go on sale later this month. To learn more, visit www.MsAmericaPageant.com.