There She Is...

HONOLULU

Denby Dung, a member of Hawaii Government Employees Association/ AFSCME Local 152, is the island’s first full-time city employee to win the coveted title of Miss Hawaii. She plays the clarinet in the Royal Hawaiian Band, an agency of the City and County of Honolulu, and the only full-time municipal band in the United States.

Crowned last June, Dung was one of 10 finalists who vied to represent the state in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., in September. Earlier, she had bested 40 other contestants in regional qualifying rounds to become Miss Oahu. She also won in local pageants, serving as Miss Chinatown Hawaii 2000, First Princess and Miss Asian America.

Her new celebrity status, however, has not changed her demeanor. Co-workers say she continues to work diligently and "doesn’t bring her crown to the job."

On evenings and weekends, the 23-year-old music educator volunteers as a choir director and teacher at Trinity Christian School. She earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary music education last year at the University of Hawaii. In her view music should be part of the curriculum in every single school in America. "Because of music’s ability to stimulate the brain, the earlier it’s introduced in a child’s personal development, the better."

Between band performances, she models and appears in television ads. She aspires to perform on the Broadway stage someday. Dung plans to take a leave of absence if she wins the Miss America crown.