The Bachelor host Chris Harrison has already given us some hints into Jessenia Cruz's future on the show. Harrison has let on that she's "not afraid of ruffling feathers," and she'll be involved in something that "will have all of Bachelor Nation talking," according to Heavy. (YES, PLEASE). The Bachelor host has further assured fans that Cruz is not what Hollywood might have you think about beauty pageant contestants.
Which isn't to say that she didn't enjoy the pageant experience. Jessenia Cruz is proud of being a beauty pageant queen. Bustle notes that Cruz came in third runner up in Miss El Paso in 2015. When competing for Miss El Paso 2016, she upped her game. Cruz remembers that she concentrated on letting her "best self shine each day of competition, and leave the rest to fate." After winning, she reflected that competing in beauty pageants had ben transformative for her. "[I had] grown in ways I never imagined. I am not the same girl I was in high school. I struggled with believing in myself and realizing what I'm capable of," the beauty queen wrote.
Cruz didn't rest on her laurels. She used them as a "Get Out The Vote" campaign, sticking her 2016 "I voted" sticker on her crown. Cruz has also used her Instagram platform to promote Habitat for Humanity, shopping at local businesses and to support for Black Lives Matter.
