CORENA COLEMAN – MISS GARDEN GROVE 2009

At age two and a half, it took Coreena minutes to fall in love with the arts.  Strolling through the Hulihe’e Summer Palace on the Big Island of Hawaii, she was a little too loud during the tour and thus, was kindly escorted outside to feed the fish out at the fishpond so her parents could finish the tour.  Little did she know that on the lawn that surrounded the fishpond there was a dance group practicing and when Coreena saw the dancers she knew she’d found a life-long passion.  Since that day nineteen years ago, Coreena has been Polynesian dancing.  She’s had the opportunity to learn from some of the most well renowned kumu hula/artistic directors and dance for some of the most prestigious groups in America.  Her passion for the arts has made it possible for her to travel and perform in Las Vegas, Hawaii and Tahiti.  Since 1998, Coreena and her family have operated their own Polynesian Entertainment non-profit company, ‘Anapa Nui where Coreena is able to perpetuate the culture and art form that she knows and loves best.

Coreena has played lead roles as Rose in “Bye Bye Birdie” and Tzeitel in “Fiddler on the Roof” and sang in an honor choir for a year in high school.  Since the arts have played such an intricate part of her life and the lives of those around her, she’s had instilled within her the desire to spread the arts to everyone.  With her platform, cultural arts awareness, preservation and celebration, she hopes to do just that, by inspiring others to get involved and celebrate the activities we all do to exert our creative energies, our own cultural arts.  Coreena hopes to visit as many classrooms this year as she can interacting with as many children as possible, teaching them what she has to offer and absorbing everything they have to share with her.

Coreena Coleman is currently a 21 year-old, full time, 4th year scholar at the University of California, Irvine, where she is working towards obtaining her Bachelors of Science and Bachelors of Arts by double majoring in Biological Science and Spanish.  Being a very multi-cultural individual, Coreena has studied the Spanish language since 7th grade and has always enjoyed learning about the language and culture that it comes from.  Her fluency level is quite proficient and she hopes to study abroad in Costa Rica at some point.  As for the Biology major, she aspires to obtain a Doctorate of Dental Science and be a cosmetic, orthodontic or pedodontic dentist one day.  Coreena loves teeth and smiles and has known since she was just eleven that one day she wanted to be the one on the other side of the chair, correcting the malocclusion. 

For relaxation Coreena enjoys trying to play her ukulele, working with children, dancing (of course), reading, watching movies, going to Disneyland, spending time with her family, traveling, and listening to music.  Coreena is absolutely honored to represent the city of Garden Grove this year and hopes that she can spark the interest of many, so that they may have the opportunity to grow and benefit from the arts as well.