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DAVIS – A 19-year-old UC Davis student and Mountain House High School alumni was just crowned Miss India USA 2024.
Caitlin Sandra Neil was born in India but has been in the U.S. for the past 14 years. She moved to Tracy with her family when she started high school and has been studying cognitive science for the past year at UC Davis.
“It feels like a dream to be honest,” Caitlin said.
Caitlin traveled to New Jersey to compete over the weekend.
There may now be a crown on Caitlin’s head, but the real crown is getting to express both her Indian and American culture.
“Pageants never really seemed in reach for me,” Caitlin said. “It always felt like I would never be good enough and I am not pretty enough to begin with and my mom always wanted to do pageants when she was little and she was like just do it, just do it.”
It was only her second pageant ever. Her first was in September when she competed for Miss Asian Global thanks to her mom who encouraged her and signed her up.
I know she could do it,” said Caitlin’s mom Angelin Reuben.
Reubin said she saw the potential in her daughter who was very involved during her high school years at Mountain House, playing varsity basketball and serving as secretary in ASB, student leadership.
“As a father, I wasn’t really aware of this fashion or into it initially,” said Neil Reuben, Caitlin’s father.
Her father quickly discovered pageants are more than glitz and glam. It is hard work.
“I remember crying to them about balancing school and pursuing my dream,” Caitlin said. “I felt like I had to choose one over the other.”
She proved to do both. Balancing her studies at UC Davis while training for the catwalk.
“Being in the U.S., that gives her great ability to represent anything,” Neil said.
Now he gets to see his daughter on the front pages of his hometown newspapers.
“It is so amazing to see people praising this woman because I never had this type of loddles in my life and this is an amazing opportunity,” Neil said.
During the competition, Caitlin competed in four different rounds: talent, evening gown, cultural attire and Q+A.
For her talent, she sang and played piano. She said she spent a lot of time preparing with vocal lessons. It was her first time singing in front of a crowd.
One of her favorite parts of the competition was the cultural attire round. She got to wear a lehenga, which is an authentic Indian dress. She said she was mesmerized getting to see everyone’s outfits during this round.
Only the top five contestants made it to the final round, Q+A, where they answered a random question on the spot.
“You can accomplish your dreams and your passions,” Caitlin said. “You just have to keep working hard towards it.”
Caitlin is grateful to her parents, friends, coaches and church community who supported her and cheered her on.
She is looking forward to competing at Miss India Worldwide in Mumbai next year.
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