DEARBORN — Ask any of Rima Fakih’s friends, co-workers, and family members about what allowed her to win Sunday’s Miss USA pageant, and they will invariably all talk about her physical beauty.

Rima Fakih gives a thumbs up after being crowned Miss USA during the 2010 Miss USA pageant at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada May 16, 2010. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

But any such descriptions always come after they describe the first ever Arab American Miss USA’s character and personality, using words like “selfless,” “down-to-Earth” and “intelligent” among others. Another word that comes up often is “humble,” a trait co-worker Dr. Maher Elder illustrated with a story about how he discovered that Fakih had won Miss Michigan back in September 2009.“When she went into Miss Michigan and she won it, it took me a week before I found out,” said Elder, who works as the medical director of the cardiac care unit at the Detroit Medical Center (DMC) and is also the president of the Heart and Vascular Institute (HVI), two places where Fakih held simultaneous part-time jobs. “I only found out through e-mails. If it had been me I’d be parading it all over the hospital but she was very professional and very nonchalant about it.” Elder said that Fakih had been given extra work before the Miss Michigan competition from both jobs but never complained or asked for time off, instead finishing them both while bringing home the crown all in one weekend.Now that Fakih, a Lebanese American Muslim, has broken down barriers in winning the Miss USA crown, becoming the week’s biggest pop culture story overnight, the attention will be much harder to shy away from.But Fakih has shown that she is equally comfortable in the spotlight if that’s what the job calls for, however, making several appearances on national TV shows such as The David Letterman Show and Regis & Kelly. A total of 37 appearances on various national and foreign programs were scheduled after the pageant according to her 37-year-old brother Rabih Fakih and so far, he has been impressed with her poise.”She’s very confident, seeing her on several TV shows, she’s been extremely comfortable and you just feel that she’s been doing this for a long time,” he said.Rima Fakih flew out to get settled in her new Trump Place apartment in New York City the morning after celebrating her win on Sunday night with the dozens of family and friends who supported her in Las Vegas. She’s expected to live in New York City, where she attended high school before moving to Dearborn, for the better part of the next year, partaking in promotional and charity events while beginning her tour of the country as Miss USA.Fakih will also prepare for the 59th Miss Universe pageant in Las Vegas on August 23. Regardless of how she fares in that pageant, her place in history is now secure.”We take great pride in Rima’s accomplishments as an Arab American and an American Muslim,” said Imad Hamad, the regional director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC).”People, especially our youth, need to take notice of such an achievement and take it as an example of their ability to achieve their dreams in America. This again proves that dreams can be real if you have the self esteem, the determination, and the will.”Hamad also had advice for fans of Fakih in dealing with attacks from conservative bloggers against her.“We need to stay the course and keep the focus on the good; we should not be bothered, and we should totally ignore the extreme voices of hate and the loners and crazy people out there,” he said.”They are not worthy of our response or even acknowledging that they exist, we should not allow hate bloggers and extremists to take away the joy and pride of our achievements.” Hamad said he hopes that other personal success stories in the Arab American community will get the respect more attention as well.”Let’s not forget the many professionals from our community who have equal prestige in medicine, engineering, acting, entertainment and other areas,” he said.Hamad also mentioned that many observers were not aware of Lebanon’s rich cultural traditions and diversity of viewpoints and religions as well as the country’s reverence for the popular Miss Lebanon pageant. Miss Lebanon Georgina Rizk won the Miss Universe pageant in 1971. Preparations are due to begin soon for Rima Fakih towards a run at the latter title. Her brother Rabih is saying that she’s already on a tight schedule of both preparation for the pageant and appearances.While Rabih Fakih said his sister enjoys the challenge, she also is excited about spending more time with family and friends to enjoy her win.She’s already had a chance to soak it in with her 34-year-old sister and New York resident Roubah, as the sisters shared a walk through the city before having dinner. The Miss USA run was a journey of faith for Rima Fakih, as she had to sell her Ford Taurus just to get enough money to compete in the Miss Michigan pageant. Now, after winning a New York Film Academy scholarship worth $100,000 and an undisclosed salary among several other prizes, along with money towards graduate school from the Miss Michigan pageant earlier, Fakih is thrilled to begin the next phase of her life and more thankful for the support than ever. “She just kept telling me that she loved all the people who believed in her back home and how much she appreciated them,” Rabih Fakih said.”She wants people to know that this is a beautiful thing and she believes that (the pageant win) was not only about beauty but also about having a good heart and having faith in people to help each other, that’s the big message she wanted to send.”