Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014, discussed celebrating diversity on Feb. 4 (Photo by Tianjiao Zhang)
Tamara Imam – Staff Writer
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Miss America 2014, Nina Davuluri, made a stop at the UAB Alys Stephens Center on Wednesday, Feb. 4, for a conversation about her journey to the crown as well as her future. The first ever Indian-American to win the coveted title, Davuluri has traveled over 250,000 miles promoting her patform of celebrating diversity through cultural competency.
The Indian Cultural Association (ICA) and the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) teamed up to host the event, which began with a multi-group tribute to Davuluri’s wining dance. One of the performance groups was UAB’s own Rangeela, a coeducational fusion dance team.
“We danced to a remix of two Indian songs. Nina’s winning dance was performed to the second song we did, ‘Dhoom Taana,'” Rangeela dancer, Keshal Patel said.
Duvulri then delved into her life leading up to the crown, highlighting the struggles she faced as one of the only children of her ethnic background in rural Oklahoma. 2014’s Miss America and her family lived in Oklahoma before eventually moving to Syracuse, where she would go on to earn the title Miss New York. She explained that when she was young, her mother urged her to hide aspects of her ethnic and religious identity that her peers did not understand.
“Now, today in 2015, it is absolutely intolerable and unacceptable for any child regardless of their race, their religion or socioeconomic status to feel like they can’t share a part of their identity,” said Davuluri.
To Davuluri, winning the title meant far more than simply wearing the widely sought-after crown.
“It felt so good for this organization to finally reach out to a new demographic of young women that is representative of what America is today,” said Davuluri. “Ultimately it wasn’t about me. It was about reaching out to that young girl that I knew was watching when I won so she could say, ‘this year, Miss America looks like me.”
In addition to traveling around the world to give talks on her platform, Davuluri has also worked on promoting women with STEM education and on the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She also serves as the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Goodwill Ambassador.
Although Davuluri’s reign as Miss America is coming to an end as she prepares to pass along the crown, she emphasized that her job is far from over. She plans to return to school to earn her MBA with a focus in international relations and continue her work in the political arena.
