6 Indian Americans among 28 vying for 2020 Miss World America title

by The SATimes News Service

 

Los Angeles:  Miss World America has announced its 2020 contestants, with six Indian Americans and one Bangladeshi American among the 28 women who will be competing for the title. The titleholder will go on to represent America at the Miss World contest.

The Indian Americans are Serene Singh of Colorado; Radhika Shah of Nevada; Manju Bangalore of Oregon; Manya Saaraswat of Pennsylvania; Shree Saini of Washington; and Sri Mangala Chava of West Virginia.

 

Bangladeshi American Afroza Nishi of Rhode Island has also made the cut.

Serena Singh is a native Coloradan and a Rhodes Scholar, and is starting her doctorate degree in criminal justice at the University of Oxford, her bio notes.

 

Radhika Shah will be attending Stanford University this fall as a public policy major before pursuing medical school and becoming a physician.

4 of the 6 Indian Americans among the 28 contestants for Miss World America are: Shree Saini (Washington), Radhika Shah (Nevada), Manju Bangalore (Oregon) and Manya Saaraswat (Pennsylvania).

Manju Bangalore is a physicist, actor and the founder of Operation Period, a youth-led nonprofit addressing menstrual inequity through art, advocacy, education, community engagement and aid. She received her physics degree and math minor from the University of Oregon in 2018 and is now pursuing her M.S. in aerospace engineering with a concentration on propulsion systems, it said.

4 of the 6 Indian Americans among the 28 contestants for Miss World America are: Shree Saini (Washington), Radhika Shah (Nevada), Manju Bangalore (Oregon) and Manya Saaraswat (Pennsylvania).

Manya Saaraswat has done a stem cell internship at Harvard University.  Currently, she is pursuing a master of science of health policy and economics at Weill Cornell Medicine before she enters medical school.

4 of the 6 Indian Americans among the 28 contestants for Miss World America are: Shree Saini (Washington), Radhika Shah (Nevada), Manju Bangalore (Oregon) and Manya Saaraswat (Pennsylvania).

Shree Saini is a global speaker who has been invited to speak in over eight countries and 30 states. She graduated from the University of Washington and has been a visiting student at Harvard, Stanford and Yale universities. Her childhood dream to serve as Miss World inspired her to change her adversities to advocacy. She is a survivor of bullying, facial burns and heart defect. Last year, Shree Saini collapsed and was hospitalized the night of the Miss World America competition in Las Vegas.

4 of the 6 Indian Americans among the 28 contestants for Miss World America are: Shree Saini (Washington), Radhika Shah (Nevada), Manju Bangalore (Oregon) and Manya Saaraswat (Pennsylvania).

Sri Mangala Chava, a recent graduate of biology from University of California San Diego, aspires to be a physician one day.

Afroza Nishi is representing Rhode Island in Miss World America. She is pursuing her undergraduate studies at Macaulay Honors College at Baruch in Accounting. She is also working as a college coach with a non-profit organization.

 

The 2020 national competition will be held in the form of a series of virtual web casts in combination with online submissions. The contestants will participate in real-time preliminary competitions, receive camera time in front of a live audience and judges; they will also interact with viewers, and rehearse and collaborate with each other, according to the contest website.

The 2020 Miss World America and Miss Teen World America queens will be invited to an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles for an official crowning ceremony, photo shoot, appearances, media interviews and other activities.

From among 8 Miss Teen World America contestants,  4 are again Indian Americans. Purvi Sehgal, representing  Arizona, Siya Patel (Massachusetts),  Amulya Agrawal (Missouri), and  Emma Patel of New Jersey. Purvi is a passionate advocate for STEM education. She hopes to continue serving her community as an activist, engineer, and entrepreneur.

Two of the 4 Indian Americans among the 8 contestants for Miss Teen World America are: Emma Patel (NJ), and Purvi Sehgal (Arizona).

Emma Patel from Cary, North Carolina is representing NJ.  She is a 16-year old Junior at GreenHope High School and founder of the non-profit H.E.A.R.T. 4 CAD in memory of her dad who passed away from Coronary Artery Disease.

Two of the 4 Indian Americans among the 8 contestants for Miss Teen World America are: Emma Patel (NJ), and Purvi Sehgal (Arizona).

Image courtesy of (Photos: Miss World America)

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