Some interesting triva from the interview in WSJ;
Original source: WSJ article By Jeff Yang
- the first ever Indian American to hold the title
- just going to medical school was the easy path for me; that’s what my parents expected of me. So doing pageants was a decision that I made independently — it was something that gave me a sense of validity. And of course, they were happy that it paid for my whole education.”
- Davuluri, who grew up in Michigan, participated in the teenage feeder competition to Miss America, winning “Miss Michigan Outstanding Teen” and being named first runner-up in the national Outstanding Teen competition. “That meant a $20,000 scholarship right there, which allowed me to graduate debt-free from the University of Michigan,” she says.
- Davuluri decided to get back into the pagent while preparing to apply to med school. “Tuition costs were, in a word, astronomical, and I had no way of paying for it,” she says. “So I competed in the Miss New York pageant — twice. I won my second time, and then obviously, here I am!”
- Between her Miss New York and Miss America triumphs, Davuluri won over $60,000 in scholarship funds towards her medical education, which means that wearing the tiara represents the fulfillment of two dreams at once.
- Bulimic during college, she saw her weight balloon to 170 pounds. She’s now down to a fit 117 lbs. “It’s all about healthy diet and exercise,” she says.
- NY Beauty pageant is the “world’s largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women,” providing winners with over $45 million in annual funds for education
- a primary role for Miss America during her one-year reign is working with the Department of Education to encourage women to pursue studies and careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
- Miss America’s finalists are a startlingly impressive group: Davuluri was a Dean’s List and National Honor Society student at U of M and is planning on becoming a cardiologist.
- First runner-up Miss California, Crystal Lee, has both a BA and MA from Stanford University, was an intern for hot Silicon Valley startup Dropbox, and, while competing in her first Miss California pageant, also managed to win the 2012 Duke Startup Challenge for top women-led startup.
- Rounding out Miss America’s court, fourth runner-up Miss Minnesota, Rebecca Yeh, another Dean’s List regular, is pursuing a doctorate in pharmacy and has been studying violin since the age of four.
Quote - “Yes, of course! I grew up reading science fiction and fantasy, and I didn’t think anything of it. I love ‘Lord of the Rings.’ I love ‘Harry Potter’ — I love ‘Star Wars’! I hopped on the ‘Star Trek’ bandwagon late in life, I admit, with the new movies, but I loved them as well. I love all that stuff, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. I want people to know: It’s okay to be a nerd!”
Sat, July 5, 2014 at 8:04AM