Karen is also the fourth Filipina to be crowned Miss Earth. The past Filipina women to win the crown were Karla Henry in 2008, Jamie Herrell in 2014, and Angelia Ong in 2015.
The other winners of the night included Miss Australia Nina Robertson for Miss Air 2017 and Miss Russia Leda Akimova for Miss Fire 2017.
Karen also gave an insightful response during the Q&A portion of the competition. When asked what the biggest enemy of Mother Earth is and why, she said, “I believe that the real problem in this world is not climate change. The real problem is us because of ignorance and apathy.What we have to do is to start changing our ways, to start recalibrating our minds and redirecting our steps because together, as a global community, our micro-efforts will have a macro-affect to save out home, our planet.”
Karen shared her excitement on Instagram Stories, posting a Boomerang thanking God for her win.