By Andrew Roberto
andrew@mvariety.com
Variety News Staff
MISS Earth Northern Marianas Aria Keilbach was at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport on Monday, Oct. 20 to begin her journey to the Philippines, where she will compete for the international 2025 Miss Earth title.
Keilbach is the co-founder of Boonie Babies, a local nonprofit dedicated to the welfare of Saipan’s stray dogs.
At her send-off, she said the “whirlwind” has begun for her and that she is excited to collaborate with other regional pageant winners.
Keilbach told Variety that in preparation for the international competition, she has met with pageant organizers, who informed her that an ecological project in the Philippines is part of the journey to the crown.
“A few groups of girls are chosen to make a project themselves about an eco-friendly activity and present it to the judges, so that’s exciting,” she said. “Not only are we representing ourselves and our own countries, but we’re also working together on something bigger than that, so that will be fun.”
She said she can’t wait to share the work she does as a Boonie Babies advocate and resident of Saipan.
“I’m really excited to spread the word. I love the work I do with the dogs, and that’s my passion. I’m excited to share that with everybody,” she said. “But I’m also excited to share other things about Saipan because it’s such a forgotten piece of the world, and I feel like so few people even know that we exist in the middle of the ocean. I’m super excited to bring more awareness and more knowledge of the culture and the people.”
She shared that her sister and co-founder of Boonie Babies, Grace Keilbach, as well as other family members, will be flying from the States to see her compete at the Okada Manila on Nov. 5. Aria Keilbach will be in Manila and surrounding areas for pre-pageant festivities, outreach, and more as the pageant date approaches.
Prior to leaving for the pageant, She and local Miss Earth Northern Marianas organizers hosted the Gala for a Cause at the Crowne Plaza on Oct. 18. There, she told Variety that she wants to collaborate with the community when she returns from the international portion of the competition.
“I’m really open to hearing the ideas of what people would like us to do as Miss Earth NMI,” she said. “I think I need to hear from the community about the events that they would like me to put on. I don’t want to speak for the Marianas; I want to be a vessel. So tell me what you want from me. Tell me what issues you would like me to highlight, or what businesses I could connect with and see what I could do for them.”
Andrew Roberto is an alumnus of Saipan Southern High School, Northern Marianas College, and the University of Guam. He holds a degree in English. He is a published author, a staged playwright, and a former classroom teacher.
