Why Miss America Winner Emma Broyles Considers ADHD To Be Her 'Superpower' - Exclusive
Emma Broyles made history when she was crowned Miss America 2022. Not only was she the first representative from Alaska to win the title, but she was also the first Korean American. Broyles made a further impact during the competition by openly discussing her experience with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder on stage. In an exclusive interview with The List, the recently crowned Miss America explained that she wanted to be so transparent in hopes viewers could relate to her experience. "I hope that other people can see people who are like them in a position like this," Broyles said.
During her interview, Broyles discussed her journey to getting diagnosed with ADHD and how she's overcome obstacles to get where she is now. She even shared that while sometimes having ADHD is a struggle, she sees some aspects of it as an advantage or "superpower." In some ways, Broyles believes that "superpower" helped her during the competition.
Emma Broyles struggled a lot before her diagnosis
Although she's now learned to manage and even found ways to use her ADHD to her advantage, Emma Broyles explained how hard it was before she got her diagnosis. Starting her undergrad at Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University, she struggled to keep her grades up. "It was so incredibly frustrating going through school and going through my first year of college, putting in three times, four times the amount of work as my peers to get the straight A's," Broyles said, later adding, "I didn't know what was wrong with me. I just assumed that maybe I'm not that smart."
She, like many women, didn't realize these were signs of ADHD. "Having ADHD, of course, is hard, right? And of course, as a woman, it's even harder because you tend to go undiagnosed," Broyles said. She explained that people often don't expect her to have ADHD because it doesn't manifest as her acting hyper, but "they don't realize that there's a whole other aspect. There's a whole other life in the ADHD brain."
How she uses ADHD as a 'superpower'
Since getting diagnosed with ADHD, Emma Broyles said it's like a "weight lifted." Instead of being frustrated that she doesn't think the way others do, she learned to work to her own strengths. "Ultimately, getting that diagnosis made me realize that this is just how my brain is wired, and that's okay," Broyles said.
With that better understanding, she also started to see ADHD as her "superpower." Though some parts of it are challenging, she explained, "I think that the ability of somebody with ADHD to hyper-focus on something is a really powerful thing. And I believe that I've really been able to use that kind of ability that I consider to be a superpower." Broyles even credits this superpower with helping her throughout the Miss America competition. Speaking about the competition finals, she said, "Every ounce of my being was hyper-focused on the panelists asking me those questions and my answer and what I wanted to convey and what I wanted the nation to see me as."
The 100th Miss America competition is currently streaming on Peacock.