Shawnae Jebbia of Mansfield, Massachusetts was crowned MISS USA 1998 during the 47th Annual MISS USA Pageant March 10"' in Shreveport, Louisiana, on the CBS Television Network.
Born and raised in California, twenty-six-year old Shawnae pursued her undergraduate degree at Jacksonville University in Florida, where she graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Communications and a minor in Business Administration. Shawnae attended Jacksonville University on an athletic scholarship, where she competed on the NCAA Division I women's volleyball team.
After graduating college in 1994, Shawnae moved to Miami's South Beach to pursue a modeling career. While modeling, she also began training for the Boston Marathon. In March of 1995 Shawnae moved to Massachusetts and that spring completed the 26.2 mile event. She, lists training for the Boston Marathon among her biggest challenges, "We must take chances. We win some and we lose some; but we never rind out what we are capable of accomplishing unless we try."
Shawnae is certified as a personal trainer and many of her hobbies involve health and fitness. One of Shawnae's life-long objectives is to motivate and encourage Americans to make Positive lifestyle changes to improve their health and fitness. For the past two years she has been a co-host of CO-ED TRAINING on television's ESPN 2. It was this passion for fitness and competition, which led her to vie for the title MISS USA.
Charities with which Shawnae has been and will continue to be involved are Special Olympics International, the official charity of the MISS USA Pageant and the Women's Sports Foundation, which encourages young women to get involved in athletics and strive for education.
After completing her year as MISS USA 1998, Shawnae plans to continue her studies to pursue her Master, s degree in Health Promotion and Wellness. Shawnae's eventual goal is to one day establish a national chain of health and fitness facilities.
Biography courtesy of Miss Universe Organization
