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.