AT FIRST GLANCE, RENÉ MCHUGH HAS THE LOOK OF A pageant queen. That she was crowned Ms. Philippines-Air in the Ms. Philippines Earth 2010 beauty pageant comes as no surprise. But after getting to know more about this tattooed model and her love for philanthropy, cheerleading, and archaeoastronomy, and you wonder if this girl is for real.

Born to a Mexican-Filipina mother and an Irish-Italian-American father, René was brought up in New Jersey as a working student to be able to pay for her secondary education, all while actively participating as the captain of her high school cheerleading team. One would never have guessed that this backflipping pageant queen also worked at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Forever 21 as a salesperson, and in Starbucks as a barista for four years. René remarked that she would work sixty hours a week, more hours than sleeping, studying, and cheering put together.

Coming from a multi-cultural household, it was easy for her to move into Chinatown ("like a typical New York college student!”). Her favorite cuisine is from Turkey, where East meets West, quite like her heritage.

She feels that her look is quite ordinary compared to the statuesque New York models she would serve while working at the famous coffee chain. “I have friends that tease me, ‘René, you’re a beauty queen? Do they know you used to work at Starbucks and never wore makeup?’”

René is anything but a wallflower. She confessed that she’s one of those “crazy girls who would take videos of themselves rapping on airplanes” and enjoys going out frequently. And by frequently, she means almost every night.

Working as a teenager to help support her seven siblings, René developed an interest in philanthropy. As one of the spokespersons of the Miss Earth Foundation, she chooses to focus on AIDS Awareness and the importance of sex education, and cites that one of her main goals is to set up AIDS testing facilities in the Philippines that would test people for free.

She has no plans of going back to the US to start her college soon, but when asked what course she would like to pursue, she answers with an unexpected “I’m really into archaeoastronomy.” It’s quite funny to see a beauty queen so interested in how ancient civilizations study the universe, but then again René is anything but your average pageant girl.

TOP PICKS

Club/Bar: Robot, Kyss, Izakaya
Restaurant: Cyma
Drink: Watermelon Sake at Izakaya
Dish: Turkish cuisine
Music: from rap and hip-hop to classical
Getaway: Bohol