On the week of June 8, Sophia Jarowyj will take the Miss Colorado stage at the Colorado School of Mines with the title of Miss Capital City draped across her chest. Jarowyj previously competed at the 100th Anniversary Miss Denver pageant in February, where fellow DU peer Asha Bhattacharya was crowned as the winner.
Jarowyj, a fourth year finance major, was introduced to pageantry through another DU student and current state titleholder, Gabrielle Gramont. When reflecting on her pageant experience so far, Jarowyj said, “pageantry gave me confidence.”
She mentions that she’d like to attend law school after receiving her undergraduate degree and highlighted improving her public speaking skills as one thing she took away from her time as a local Colorado titleholder.
Jarowyj’s community service initiative is called the Flow 4 Ukraine Club. Every Miss America competitor, at the local, state and national level, is required to have a community service initiative in order to compete; having an initiative allows you to get experience in working with a community, as community engagement is an important factor in the case someone is crowned. She was inspired by her Ukrainian identity and the current conflict since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 by Russian forces.
“I fight for Ukraine because I fight for my ancestors,” Jorowyj said.
The Ukrainian Research Institute at Harvard University writes that the conflict is considered to be the largest European war since World War II. Between 2014 and 2022, there have been 14,000 casualties in Ukraine related to the conflict, and 1.5 million people have been displaced.
Jarowyj describes herself as a “first and a half generation” Ukrainian-American. She was named after her great-grandmother, who survived Holodomor — a period of time between 1932 and 1933 where Ukrainians starved to death due to a manmade famine enacted by Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Regime. Holodomor means “death by hunger.” The Stalin Regime seized grain and farms and transferred the grain to other parts of the Soviet Union.
“I love being an American, but I will never forget my roots,” she said.
Jarowyj aims to advocate for the safety of Ukrainians and recognize war crimes being committed by Russian authorities.
“I am an advocate to bring justice to the men who were sexually war-crimed and the women who were raped,” she said.
In March 2025, the Commission of Inquiry of Ukraine found that enforced disappearances of civilians have been “widespread and systematic.” The Commission also concluded that Russian authorities committed “war crimes of rape and sexual violence as a form of torture.”
“This is an important topic because if we don’t hold a country like Russia accountable, what would that do for our kids?” she asked.
To further keep up with Jarowyj, check out her Instagram. To further support your DU peers, Miss Colorado, Miss Capital City and Miss Denver, follow the Miss Colorado Organization on Instagram.
