Olutosin Itohan Araromi is a beauty queen, international model, business woman, public speaker, host & humanitarian. She is a first generation Nigerian-American college graduate of Montclair State University, in undergrad she obtained a Bachelor’s in health and human services with a minor In psychology. Olutosin Araromi firmly believes in appreciating the opportunities America holds, but still stays true to her Nigerian heritage.
Determined to impact her community at large Olutosin sought a platform that tied her interest in heritage, charity, and empowerment. She became a competitor for the title of Miss Nigeria USA. Through this platform she was able to impact young women and girls alike. She exhibited what true beauty is: a light from within that shines through charity, volunteerism and being a change agent. As Miss Nigeria USA 2015-2016 she seized the opportunity to promote women empowerment, education as well as breast cancer awareness. Olutosin’s humanitarian efforts spans from many notable organizations in the USA and Nigeria, one such organization that is dear to her is the Royal Diamond Orphanage in Ikeja, Nigeria. Olutosin also competed in Miss NJ USA 2018 and placed as a top 18 semi-finalist in that year’s edition. Not only did she place, but she was the only African-American/African to place as a semi finalist that year.
Furthermore, with all that Olutosin accomplished she still wanted to accomplish more. So she applied for the 2019 Most beautiful girl in Nigeria pageant which send Nigerian representatives to the Miss World and Miss Universe pageant. Olutosin competed in the 2019 MBGN pageant and was crowned MBGN Universe/Miss Universe Nigeria 2019-2020. Furthermore, Olutosin went on to compete for the 2019 Miss Universe title which took place on December 8th, 2019 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. She placed as a finalist in the top 20. She was one out of the two African countries that placed in this years Miss Universe. This was such an achievement for Nigeria because Nigeria hasn’t placed in semi finals of Miss Universe since 2001. She also goes down in history as the second Nigerian representative to ever place in the history of Miss Universe. Immediately after the Miss Universe pageant Olutosin was presented the key to the city of Stonecrest, Georgia, USA. She received the key to the city because of her placement in Miss Universe and her humanitarian efforts in USA and Nigeria. She is now using her platform to advocate for women and youth empowerment, and currently she is in the beginning stages of setting up her own non-profit organization.
Besides pageantry Olutosin has made quite a name for herself in the modeling industry. Olutosin has been featured in magazines and on-line platforms such as British Vouge, Munaluchi bridal Magazine as well as Bella naija weddings. She is currently continuing to focus on building her brand internationally.
Read our Q & A With her and be inspired.
What are three words that best describe you?
Determined, resilient & funny.
What are the top 3 impactful things you have done/achieved in the past one year?
Top 3 things I would say would be, winning The title of MBGN universe/Miss Universe Nigeria, going on to Miss Universe and becoming the second Nigerian representative to ever place in the history of Miss universe and becoming the founder of my own NGO.
What experience triggered your decision to sign up for the MBGN Beauty Pageant?
I held the title of Miss Nigeria USA back in 2015-2016 with such an accomplished reign many fans reached out to me to try MBGN and many saw that I may do well on an international stage. So after a couple years of going back and fourth, I decided to just take a leap of faith and move back to Nigeria full time to pursue my dreams of representing my country internationally.
Can you tell us a little bit about your experience participating and lessons learned along the way?
I mean competing at MBGN was not easy at all, I recently lost my mother a couple of weeks before the MBGN 2019 Pageant so being able to be grieving and still compete for dreams took a Strength I didn’t know I had. But I believe everything happens for a reason and I know God didn’t bring me this far to abandon me. So I realized in life you can’t really predict what will happen next, but you just have to keep going and fight to overcome any obstacles or tribulations.
If you could go back in time, would you have done anything diferently before the pageant?
No, not at all everything that happened, happened for a reason.
What is one piece of advice would you offer a younger Olutosin?
Believe in yourself! In my late teens/early 20’s I was a person that wanted to be well liked so badly. And then I got to the point in my Life where I was making everyone happy besides myself. So since that day I vowed to start putting myself and my needs first, that’s why I’m such an advocate on self development & self care. You have to make yourself a priority!
What / Who inspires you and why?
Who inspires me is my mother, even though she passed away, I still see her influence in my every day life. She also shaped me into the woman I am today, she made me realized that living a purpose filled life is what should be important to every individual. Her influence in my life still inspires me so much everyday!
What is the most important lesson life has taught you so far?
Be humble and be grateful. Life can change in an instant. You can have it all one day & then the next day you can loose it all. That’s why being thankful, grateful & humble is so important because your situation can always be worst. So be thankful that it’s not.
What are you currently working on that you’d love everyone reading to know about?
I am currently In the registration stage of creating my own non-governmental organization, my foundation would be all about women and youth empowerment, education & more. The official launching event of my NGO should be held before end of this year or possibly early 2021, so be on the look out for that. I am also currently in the brainstorming stage of different business & ventures I want to soon embark on! So expect a lot of different businesses and projects coming from me In 2021. Follow me on Instagram @iamolutosin all my latest updates and projects will be posted on my page.
What is your take on “Women Supporting Women”?
I am 100% a women empowerment advocate. Supporting my fellow sisters is something I live for. As woman we have so many people against us, so why should we continue to tear each other down? I believe we should uplift and empower one another and supporting one another is one way we can empower one another.