For the first time ever, the Miss USA pageant will have an openly transgender contestant this November.

Kataluna Enriquez won the Miss Nevada USA pageant on Sunday, beating 21 other competitors at the at the South Point Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. 

Enriquez first started competing in pageants in 2016. She qualified for the Miss Nevada USA pageant by winning Miss Silver State USA in March.

The 27-year-old told KVVU-TV in Las Vegas that she, like many transgender people, has faced her share of discrimination, but she remained determined and persevered. 

“I didn’t have the easiest journey in life,” she said. “It was a struggle for a moment. I struggled with physical and sexual abuse. I struggled with mental health. I didn’t have much growing up. I didn’t have support. But I’m still able to thrive, and I’m still able to survive and become a trailblazer for many.”

Enriquez wore a rainbow-sequin gown that she designed herself in honor of Pride month, and her pageant platform is awareness for the transgender community.

“Huge thank you to everyone who supported me from day one,” she wrote on Facebook after winning. “My community, you are always in my heart. My win is our win. We just made history. Happy pride.”

If Enriquez wins the title of Miss USA, she would become the second transgender women to compete in the Miss Universe pageant, following in the footsteps of Spain’s Angela Ponce in 2018.

The Miss Universe and its affiliated pageants have allowed transgender women to compete since 2012.