On October 13th, 2007 at the 3rd Annual Miss Nigeria In America beauty pageant held at the Cullen Performance Hall in Houston, Texas,, it was Ms. Peace Amadi who beat out 13 other beautiful, intelligent, and talented girls vying for the coveted crown. Peace entered the pageant a 24-year-old graduate student pursuing her doctorate of Psychology (Psy.D) at Azusa Pacific University. But on that day, she walked away as Miss Nigeria in America 2007. While the pageant had come to end, Peace’s work had only begun.

Aligning herself with one of the great programs of MNIA, Inc, Peace shared memorable moments with the homeless people of Los Angeles City by volunteering her time with PATH Homeless Shelter. On two very special occasions – Thanksgiving and Easter – Peace, alongside a group of other compassionate young adults, chose to spend quality holiday time cooking and serving the homeless residents of PATH. The smiles on their faces and the stories they shared became indelible markers of the many privileges so many of us have, but take for granted.

Some of Peace’s greatest accomplishments involved her work with diabetes. Coming from a family full of diabetics and realizing how prevalent this disease was amongst her fellow Nigerians, Peace decided she needed to create a greater awareness of diabetes in her community. She developed and conducted the first-ever Diabetes Awareness Week at St. Raphael School in which she taught over 250 students about the disease. She engaged the students with fun activities that stressed the importance of eating healthy and staying fit. Because of the impact this had on the students, parents, and faculty, Peace has been granted the opportunity to continue conducting the Diabetes Awareness Week at this school and will hope to open this up to other schools in the community. But her work with diabetes did not end here. Peace researched other ways to get involved with the cause and came upon the “Tour de Cure” – an American Diabetes Association bicycling event geared towards fighting diabetes. Peace then organized a team of people who would join her efforts in creating awareness in the community and who would ride with her for the cause. On June 14th, 2008, “Team Nigeria”, rode 15 miles for diabetes dedicating their ride to all Nigerians who suffered from the disease. The team fundraised well over $2,000 towards diabetes prevention, treatment, and the cure.

Fortunately, Peace’s commitment to her community will continue beyond her reign. She has spear-headed Project WHOLE – a community-based project that reaches out to abused, abandoned, and orphaned children in Nigeria. Project WHOLE adopts a holistic approach to healing as it emphasizes the fulfillment of physical, educational, emotional needs as well as the importance of leadership and character development. Peace dedicates the remainder of her reign to the successful launch of Project WHOLE. As she spends these next few months procuring both monetary and material donations for the urgent needs of the orphanage, she will conclude 2008 with the first-ever visit to Nigeria on behalf of Project WHOLE.

Young, vibrant, and energetic, Peace continues to act on her passion for youth by working as a school counselor at St Raphel School in the inner-city of Los Angeles and leading the youth ministry at her home church in Ontario. CA – led by her esteemed parents Pastors Gilbert & Debbie Amadi. She also has 3 siblings – Ndidi (23), Alfred (19), and Promise (14) whom she adores. Peace believes that with God, and the incredible support of her family, she will continue to accomplish all that is set before her. And she hopes to inspire young people to realize the potential they have to affect change in our world. “In thinking about how we can ‘change the world,’” she once stated, “we don’t we have to look very far. We are always in some sort of a position to positively impact the people the around us.