Karla Aponte Roque biography: 13 things about Miss Connecticut USA 2023

View this post on Instagram

Karla Aponte Roque’s profile

Karla Aponte Roque is an American nurse and beauty queen born in Caguas, Puerto Rico, United States and raised in Massachusetts, USA. In 2017, she moved to Branford, Connecticut, USA, the hometown of her fiancé Shawn Paquette.

An advocate for health in all of its dimensions, Aponte has worked closely with several organizations including the American Heart Association, the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Cancer Society. During the 2019 Walk to End Alzheimer’s event in New Haven, Connecticut, she raised more than $2,000.

Aponte is fluent in English, Spanish and French. Here are 13 more things about her:

1. On November 23, 2014, she competed at Miss Massachusetts USA 2015 and finished in the Top 15.
2. From January 2015 to September 2015, she worked for David’s Bridal in West Springfield, Massachusetts, USA as a stylist.
3. From August 2015 to September 2015, she worked for Spirit of Halloween in West Springfield as an assistant manager.
4. From August 2016 to May 2019, she attended Albertus Magnus College in New Haven where she earned her bachelor’s degrees in biology and chemistry.
5. On November 13, 2016, she competed at Miss Connecticut USA 2017 at The Stamford Marriott Hotel and Spa in Stamford, Connecticut. She was unplaced. 
6. From June 2017 to August 2017, she was a summer intern at NEMG/Chapel Medical Group in New Haven.
7. From August 2017 to May 2019, she was a laboratory assistant at Albertus Magnus College.
8. From February 2019 to October 2020, she worked for Artis Senior Living in Branford as a certified nursing assistant.
9. From May 2021 to August 2022, she attended Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut where she earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing.
10. In August 2022, she went back to Albertus Magnus College to pursue her master’s degree in business administration with a concentration in healthcare management
11. On April 12, 2023, she became a full-time registered nurse on the medical-surgical-telemetry unit of Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven. On April 16, 2023, she represented Greater New Haven at Miss Connecticut USA 2023 at the Marriott Hartford/Windsor Airport in Windsor, Connecticut and won the title.
12. On September 29, 2023, she represented Connecticut at Miss USA 2023 at the Grand Sierra Resort in Reno, Nevada, USA. She finished in the Top 20.
13. She was 28 years old when she crowned her successor Miss Connecticut USA 2024 Shavana Clarke on April 14, 2024 at the Marriott Hartford Windsor Airport in Windsor.