Meet Abigaille Batu-Tiako, your 22-year-old Miss Iowa 2024.
A recent college graduate, former student athlete, and Iowa’s Miss America 2025 competitor, the daughter of Congolese immigrants and sister to three is proud to represent Iowa in the competition Jan. 5.
Who is Miss Iowa 2024, Abigaille Batu-Tiako?
Born in Chicago, Batu-Tiako grew up on the East Coast, spending most of her life in upstate New York.
“Due to domestic violence with my Dad, we had to move from the Midwest,” she said. “We went to New York, upstate New York, a little bit in Vermont, even Montreal, Canada.”
While she loved the scenery on the East Coast, Batu-Tiako said what she loved most was that her Mom was happy and her siblings were all together. Hoping to stay in New York for college, Batu-Tiako said she had all her classes and even a roommate picked out at St. John’s University.
However, “The track scholarship they offered me just wasn’t enough,” she said. “I decided, financially, it just wasn’t a good idea for my family. We weren’t in a good spot. So I looked through my spam email.”