Mrs. International Pageant Contestants

Mrs. New York International®

Jessica Fabus Cheng

People's Choice Award

1.Tell us a funny story about a date night out with your husband.
We've had many funny things transpire throughout our marriage but it's our first date that still takes the cake. My then future-husband Dan invited me to a sushi dinner in Manhattan. Wanting to prove I was a quality AND fiscally responsible contender for his heart I drove my brand new car to the city (NYC rookie move) and was over TWO hours late to our first date. He waited though, and the rest is history!

2.What are the (2) most important things in your kitchen and why?
A notebook and pen. Sounds odd, but I do my best writing in the kitchen. Since I avoid cooking like the plague it provides absolutely no distraction and I can work in a place where the coffee flows and the snacks are plentiful. In fact, the genesis for my first book, “Leveraging Chaos: 10 Life Lessons from the Operating Room” was cooked up there!

3.What do people assume about you that isn’t true?
Being from New York City people automatically assume that I consider New York pizza to be superior. But the reality is far more complicated. I was born and raised in Chicago, so the question of which pizza is the best often comes up...and I'll just leave it at that!

4.Tell us a time you demonstrated leadership skills.
I beat Hürthle cell carcinoma - a rare form of thyroid cancer - in 2022. In order to do so I underwent 2 surgeries and radiation. Between those surgeries I was scheduled to lead advocacy meetings for an organization dedicated to ending Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The meetings were virtual that year so I decided to lead them, despite feeling unwell. Sometimes leadership requires sacrifice and putting others before yourself.

5.If you had no fear, what would you try?
This! As a human being, I believe having “no fear” is a recurring choice, one we make countless times when doing anything of value. I’m by no means perfect at this but fear will never stop me from serving those I am called to uplift. It's faith over fear for me.