WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — The first Asian American to win Miss Texas has found a new calling outside of the glitz and glam: a calling for politics.

Lawyer and former pageant winner Averie Bishop is looking to make her mark on the Texas government. Miss Texas 2022, Averie Bishop, is running for state representative, and if she were to win, she would be the first member of Gen Z and Filipino Americans in the Texas House.

Bishop’s campaign slogan is, “Averie For All,” and is aimed at making the state feel like home for all Texans.

“As Miss Texas, I will continue opening doors for all Texans because every child, whether they are naturally born here or walked here, deserves to feel at home,” Bishop said. “Remember, we’re Texan and y’all means all.”

This was the pitch that earned Bishop the title of Miss Texas 2022, and she has her sights set on a new goal.

Bishop is striving to become a state representative, something she said she knew she was destined for from a young age. She knew she needed to be her own hero, growing up in her small Texas town, as there weren’t many people that looked like her an Asian American woman.

She didn’t see representation on TV, in government, in pageantry or even in her own school. She has been a trailblazer from the start and has no plans of slowing down.

“I would become the very first Filipino American in the Texas House,” Bishop said. “For 100 years, there has never been a Filipino-American to represent a community in the Texas House. I’m used to being the first: the first of my family to graduate from college and the first Asian American to win Miss Texas.”

Bishop said she knew she wanted to run for office from a young age and began her path by earning her law degree from Southern Methodist University. She then decided to compete for Miss Texas to earn scholarship money to pay off her student loans.

While competing, she was inspired by all the accomplished women she met in the Miss America system that pushed her to be better and go after her goals.

“I had always wanted to run for office,” Bishop said. “I kind of made the promise to run before I turned 30, but I was already questioning if I could do that.”

As Miss Texas, Bishop’s platform was “Y’all Means All,” advocating for diversity and inclusion in classrooms, whether that was through speeches at universities about the power of having difficult conversations or at elementary schools to teach the power of kindness to the youth.

Bishop tailored her message for each audience but maintained one fundamental message, “Everyone deserves to feel accepted and empowered.” Averie’s campaign took “Y’all Means All” and turned it into “Averie For All” as her new campaign slogan.

“My policies I’m running on are really specifically about making sure that children in the classroom, all children, feel really safe and comfortable and can see that Texas is their home,” Bishop said.

As a young child who looked different than her peers, this message hits home for Bishop and fuels her with the passion to run. While Averie is anticipating challenges, financial challenges being the biggest, she is confident in what she brings to the table as a candidate.

Bishop said she feels blessed to be in a position where she can help those around her and hopes to never stop chasing goals that once seemed impossible.

Avery’s campaign launch party was last week, and she hopes to inspire her generation that their time is now.