Crowned Miss England, Jessica Gagen is on a mission to become an astronaut, and has just graduated from university with a bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering.

The 27-year-old became the first ever redhead winner of the prestigious beauty pageant last year in October and, after juggling competitions on the catwalk alongside her studies at the University of Liverpool, was delighted when she graduated alongside her classmates this week.

She now wants to use her degree and beauty queen title to inspire the next generation of female engineers and get more women into STEM subjects.

Her university journey was fraught with obstacles as she suffered insomnia and chest pains while combining her studies with being Miss England.

"I think it's important that today's youth know that sometimes things don't go entirely to plan, and that's perfectly okay," said Jessica, who's from Lancashire, near Liverpool.

"But I'm incredibly proud with what I have achieved. I don't think it's quite sunk in yet.

"Aerospace engineering was very challenging, covering topics like aerodynamics, structural mechanics, programming, and advanced materials. It equips candidates with a range of skills sought after by different industries, making them highly employable in the fields of science, technology and finance.

"I absolutely loved it. It certainly opens up a lot of opportunities for me and I can't wait to see what the future holds."

She says she went out to celebrate "with the lads" after graduation because there weren't many girls in her department.

When she started her college career she had no intention of entering Miss England, but after noticing the lack of females at school—only about 10 percent of her classmates were women—she made it her mission to advertise the subject to the next generation through social media, which subsequently lead her to be scouted for Miss England.

"There's a lot of work that goes into becoming Miss England, and I really wanted to win because I knew I could use the platform to get more girls into engineering."

Upon winning the contest, Jessica recalls, "I was ecstatic and life went crazy.

"I had to protect my health and my grade – I was set to be traveling around the world with the Miss England team from February, a once in a lifetime opportunity. But was thrilled to be able to attend the graduation ceremony.

"The lads in class felt like little brothers, we had the best relationship and I missed them incredibly, so it was lovely still being able to graduate with them.

Jessica now spends a lot of time visiting schools up and down the country giving free talks about STEM subjects, aimed to advertise them to the next generation.

She plans to go back to school and get her Masters degree but will continue the pageant circuit by competing in the 71st annual Miss World Contest in December.

With an eye toward space her ambitions include becoming an astronaut—the first beauty queen in outer space.

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