Following the wins of herself, Kaliegh Garris as Miss Teen USA 2019, and Nia Franklin as Miss America 2019, 2019 became the first year in American history all three major American pageants were won by African American women.\n', '

Kryst was born on April 28, 1991 in Charlotte, North Carolina to a Polish American father and a African American mother. She has four brothers, Asa, Chandler, Jet and Brooklyn, and a sister, Page. Her mother, April Simpkins, competed in pageantry and was crowned Mrs. North Carolina US when Kryst was a child. Kryst grew up in Rock Hill, South Carolina and attended Northwestern High School. The family later moved to Fort Mill, South Carolina and Kryst transferred to Fort Mill High School, graduating in 2009; both cities are suburbs in the Charlotte metropolitan area. After graduating from high school, Kryst moved to Columbia, South Carolina to attend the University of South Carolina. She graduated from the Darla Moore School of Business with a degree in marketing and human resource management in 2013, where she was also a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta honor society, Gamecocks women\'s track and field team, and mock trial.\n', '

After finishing her undergraduate degree, Kryst enrolled in Wake Forest University School of Law in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, graduating with a Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration in 2017. Following her graduation, Kryst became licensed to practice law in both North Carolina and South Carolina, and began working as an attorney at Poyner Spruill LLP. She is the founder of the fashion blog White Collar Glam, dedicated to helping women dress professionally in white-collar jobs.\n', '

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