Dr. Aaliyah Frederick is among the roughly 2% of physicians nationwide who are Black, according to CBS News 8. When she’s not treating patients, she’s winning pageants.

As a pediatric neurologist at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, Frederick has long been driven by a desire to help others, CBS News 8 reports. She is especially passionate about breaking barriers as a Black female physician and inspiring children who see themselves reflected in her white coat.

“I often see little girls when they come into the clinic, their faces light up,” Frederick said, per CBS News 8.

From Medicine To The Pageant Stage

Frederick decided to enter pageants in her mid-30s at her college-aged daughter’s suggestion. Her first win came in 2019 at a competition in Los Angeles — while wearing a dress she ordered from Amazon, per the outlet.

“My start to pageantry was later than most after already establishing a career and a family,” Frederick said in her Pageant Planet profile. “I was originally inspired to participate by my daughter since we were actually looking for a pageant for her to participate in at the time.”

Since then, she has won multiple state, national, and international titles, including Ms. Black California USA 2026, per CBS News 8.

Frederick said pageantry isn’t just about winning a crown and goes beyond beauty.

“It’s about doing the things you love, being a good person all the time, being of service to others, creating that portfolio of things you’re just generally doing,” she said, per the outlet.

According to her Pageant Planet profile, Frederick draws on her own experiences to address the challenges faced by underrepresented groups, leading her to champion diversity and inclusion initiatives in STEM and medicine aimed at youth.

CBS News 8 reports that Frederick developed a mentoring program at Rady Children’s Hospital that connects young people from the community with health care professionals.

“We want to give them that early experience opportunity to start thinking about that, because that kind of sets that seed in their mind that maybe this is something for me,” Frederick said, per the outlet.

As for what’s next, Frederick will compete for the Ms. Black USA national title in August 2026, per CBS News 8.