Nina Davuluri has had to answer questions no other Miss America has ever dealt with.
Being the first Indian American Miss America is a source of pride for her, and a distinction she fully embraces.
Fashion & Style reports she’s answered questions about arranged marriages, cow worship and the meaning of “red dots on foreheads.” even before she became Miss America.
Davuluri graduated from the University of Michigan and grew up in a predominantly white Midwest town.
“For my parents it was really difficult for them to assimilate with the American culture. And that’s what I encourage – assimilation has to happen from both sides, it can be one-sided.”
Her parents are the result of an arranged marriage and she said she hid the fact from them that she had a boyfriend.
It took her nearly a year-and-a- half to tell them.
“I really, really wish that I’d opened that conversation sooner than I did, because it really made – I mean, it sounds really cheesy, but it really made up have a stronger relationship,” said Davuluri. “I’m not saying that it was any walk in the park, because it was a very difficult conversation to have. But at the end of the day, your parents want you to be happy. And so I’m really thankful that I did it, but it’s still a constant struggle in my own home as well.”
Davuluri talks about her struggles with bulimia and her efforts to encourage the young to pursue science, technology and math in Fashion & Style