Millions around the world tuned in to watch the annual Miss America 2014 pageant on September 15, 2013. Little did viewers know that they would be witness to history in the making. For the first time, Nina Davuluri, an Indian American was crowned Miss America, not only making Indians around the globe proud of this historical first but breaking the stereotype of the typical girl-next-door in the United States of America.
“I came into the organization with a vision and that was to change the face of the Miss America Organization,” says Davuluri, as we chatted candidly a few weeks after she was crowned Miss America. “I think it’s so important and so timely because I’ve always viewed Miss America as the girl-next-door and she’s always been this national icon of patriotism and a symbol of our country.”
However, “the reality is Miss America is evolving as the diversity in America evolves, so it’s really important for me to be the new face of the organization because there are so many young girls sitting at home watching the competition on television and thinking to themselves, ‘Wow, Miss America finally looks like me’ or this is a very attainable goal and you don’t have to fit that stereotype of what people might think the normal or typical Miss America used to be,” she concludes.
Kapany is heralded as the “Father of Fiber Optics” and his scientific contributions and groundbreaking developments have paved the way for technological advancements that have shaped the very nature of today’s world.
