Ada Dieke, a master of public health student with a focus in maternal and child health at The University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, has been selected as Miss Black Arizona USA 2006-2007 and will represent the state of Arizona at the Miss Black USA Scholarship Pageant held in The Gambia, West Africa, in June. (She was selected for the Arizona title Dec. 6, 2006)

She is the second public health graduate student at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health to be named Miss Black Arizona USA. Rachel Wilhite, a doctoral student in epidemiology and MPH graduate, was Miss Black Arizona USA 2005 and was one of the top ten finalists for Miss Black USA 2005.

Ada was born in Illinois and spent most of her developing years residing in various states throughout the South. Her family’s travels taught her how to adapt to different personalities and cultures while still retaining her own unique characteristics. Her personal philosophy—which has served as a foundation for her determination and drive—has been in answering the question of “why not?”

“If there’s an idea that you have and you feel that it could be of great benefit to society, then “why not” do it?,” she says.  Few obstacles should deter people from achieving their goals and she especially wants young kids to know they have different choices. “Do it” has been the motto she has embraced during her personal development.

Ada wants to empower youths to feel that they can speak up for themselves. She believes that youths should never lack confidence, self esteem or self worth. “A person should not seek power alone, but seek being in a position where power could be used for good,” she notes. 

Her platform is called Project R.E.V.I.V.A.L (Restoring Ego & Virtue In Visions of African Legacy): Celebrating the beauty of the African Diaspora through Media, Music, Dance, and Literature.  With her platform she wants to help promote more positive images of people of African descent. “Positive images will help develop self worth among the youth,” explains Ada. “At times the negative images portrayed in the media and other outlets may be all that the youth experience.  This creates a need to provide knowledge outside of these influences.”

Issues affecting well-being of minorities (especially the Black community) within the United States as well as globally, interests Ada.  She attributes this interest to her parents, both of whom hail from Nigeria. “It continually saddens me to learn about the people who have a great need for health care.”

Ada cultivated her interest in public health issues while attending University High School, in Tucson, Ariz., and receiving a Bachelor of science degree at the UA in general biology with a minor in chemistry. After graduating in May with a master’s degree in public health, Ada is planning to enter a health journalism program or a doctoral program in public health where she can combine her many interests towards eliminating the health disparities affecting minorities.  She is currently involved in parlaying some of her passions, such as dance (Ada dances and also plays African drums), working with children and using media production as an unconventional and innovative ways of addressing health care issues.    

Ada has immersed herself in school and community endeavors targeting the underserved, such as helping to develop the Defeating Diabetes Through Dance and Diet Program at Challenger Middle School with counselors Sagrario Espinosa and Maritza Garlant-Molin.  She is the Vice President of the College’s Public Health Student Alliance (PHSA) and is also involved in helping develop a mentoring program and a Black Graduate Student Association at the University of Arizona’s African American Student Affairs Center.  Ada’s commitment to promoting diversity, as well as her leadership skills coordinating the first Cultural Diversity Fashion Show at the UA Zuckerman College of Public Health, inspired the Dean to present her with the first ever Dean’s Diversity Award in November 2006.

(Photo: Chris Tisch, Assistant Dean of Student Services, Ikenna Dieke, Ada's father, Dean G. Marie Swanson, and Ada Dieke during the presentation of the first Dean's Diversity Award).

The Miss Black USA Pageant and Scholarship Foundation, Inc. develops and promotes national leadership among women in the African American community. Miss Black USA receives a $20,000 scholarship. The organization develops women who are strong, empowered, and educated and who serve as positive role models to other women of color. The Miss Black USA Pageant is a community driven organization and is committed to addressing health and education, two leading social issues in the African American community. Winners of official "Miss Black USA" state pageants will use her civic platform to promote awareness of these issues during her reign.