Meniere’s Disease Sets Former Miss USA on a New Track

Healthcare News | September 28, 2009

Interview by Andrea Boidman

Andrea Boidman, chief operating officer of Deafness Research Foundation (DRF) and publisher of Hearing Health, sat down with 1998 Miss USA Shawnae Jebbia at the DRF offices in New York City on June 3, 2009, to discuss Jebbia’s journey through the diagnosis and treatment of an early-onset of Meniere’s disease.

Andrea Boidman: Shawnae, before we met I had a chance to see the YouTube recording of your 1998 Miss USA victory. It must have been an amazing experience.

Shawnae Jebbia: It was, especially since I wasn’t a pageant-goer. For me, it was a new world. I was an NCAA Division 1 athlete and a personal trainer. I was working in television, though, so I knew this was a venue I wanted to transition into. It was interesting because I wondered, “Are they going to want me, or do I need to transform myself a little to fit it into this pageant world?” I went off to the first couple of appearances and realized that I was going to have to work harder than I was expecting, which was a fantastic challenge. I just had to make sure I was prepared before I got to each city. If I was speaking for 11 minutes on breast cancer, I had to learn what was going on with breast cancer. I couldn’t just search the Internet. I had to have a press briefing before I went. It was awesome – I got to grow professionally. It gave me a chance to showcase all my talents and hopefully be the best I could be.

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