A record seven Indian Americans are set to compete for the Miss America World 2020 Contest, according to a report released by The Miss World America pageant, announcing the 30 contestants for its 2020 national competition. Shree Saini of Washington, Serene Singh of Colorado, Amulya Chava of Kansas, Radhika Shah of Nevada, Manju Bangalore of Oregon, Manya Saaraswat of Pennsylvania; and Mangala Chava of West Virginia are the Indian American contestants who will be competing for the Miss World America 2020 crown. Afroza Nishi of Rhode Island is the Bangladeshi-American contestant. Shree Saini from Washington state, who has a heart condition, is a global motivational speaker and has addressed audiences in more than 8 countries and 30 states in the United States. Shree Saini has been a visiting student at Harvard, Stanford and Yale Universities, her bio states. She has earned the “Best Pageant Titleholder” award and recognitions from the Secretary of State, Senate, Governor and the American Heart Association CEO. Singh from Colorado is the founder of a nonprofit, ‘The Serenity Project Brave Enough to Fly’ that aims to give confidence tools to at-risk women, according to the Miss World America website, which provides brief bios of the contestants, A graduate of University of Washington, Singh has also worked for former First Lady Michele Obama and the Girls Opportunity Alliance to improve girls’ education in South Asia. She plans to one day serve on the United States Supreme Court, the bio says. Amulya Chava from Kansas wants to be a civil rights attorney and is currently majoring in political science. She is the founding president of her local Wounded Warrior Project chapter. She recently released her first book entitled ‘Soar’.

Shah from Nevada founded Real Autism Difference (RAD), a nonprofit to provide respite services for those with autism in the Southern Nevada community and beyond. In just two years, she raised more than $100,000 for RAD’s programs. In December of 2018, she was appointed by then Governor Brian Sandoval to serve as the youngest Youth Commissioner for the state of Nevada. Shah will be attending Stanford University this fall as a Public Policy major before pursuing a medical degree, the bio says. 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.

Bangalore has worked at two NASA centers, Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center, as well as in the White House on science policy in the Obama administration. Bangalore is now pursuing her M.S. in aerospace engineering with a concentration on propulsion systems. Saaraswat from Pennsylvania is pursuing a Master of Science in Health Policy and Economics at Weill Cornell Medicine before she enters medical school and wants to focus on global pediatric health.

Saaraswat has done a stem cell internship at Harvard university, has 4 publications in medical journals, and experienced what she says was a ‘life-changing’ trip to volunteer and intern at a local hospital in India.Mangala Chava is from West Virginia and wants to become a physician. She is a recent graduate of Biology from University of California, San Diego and has been involved with Alzheimer’s San Diego during her time in college and currently volunteers for Alzheimer’s Orange County.

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. Each contestant will be able to plug in to Miss World America events through her smart phone or laptop. Viewers will have access to series of online virtual events, during the month of October.Preliminary competitions will include Beauty with a Purpose; Influencer Challenge; Talent Showcase; Head To Head Challenge; Entrepreneur Challenge; Top Model Challenge; and People’s Choice. The new 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, all of which will be included in the Miss World America 2020 Final webcast, according to a news release. The 2020 national competition will be held in the form of a series of virtual web casts. Tickets to the event can be accessed at https://missworldamerica.com/ for $15 for the All-Access pass and $45 VIP Access pass.