Shree Saini, the first Indian-American to win the Miss World America title, has had a challenging life. Yet, she has overcome each hurdle

Her life is no less than an inspiration. She faced a fair share of bullies in school, underwent a heart surgery and recovered from a car accident that gave her facial burns. Meet Shree Saini, the first Indian-American to win the Miss World America title.

At 12, she was detected with rare heart disease and had to go through a surgery and ever since she is living with a permanent pacemaker inside her body. At 15, her mother was put on a life support because of illness, but instead of getting depressed, she had the strength to come up with an NGO to support others in distress. Years later, she met with an accident that left her with partial facial burns and bruises. While doctors stated it would take a year of recovery, she was back to work in two weeks!

Ask her what kept her going all these years and she comments, “It was my aim to be on the Miss World Pageant one day. As a child, I drew a lot of inspiration from the contestants in beauty contests. That goal really gave purpose to my life.”

Being an Indian in America and especially in the times when voices like ‘Black Lives Matter’ are raised more than ever before, she adds, “When I came to America, terms like a person of colour and information about how to treat people from the minorities wasn’t readily available. But at the same time, I never thought there should be a reason to bully anyone. It was perhaps instilled in us to respond with kindness even to unkind treatment. It often softens their hearts. A few years ago, I had received apologies from some of the people who had bullied me once. Honestly, it was challenging and tough, but you have to persevere and remain strong, and continue to be kind.”

Ludhiana connection

Born in Ludhiana, Shree has done her initial few years of schooling from the city itself. So, is she a Punjabi by heart or in manner she lives? She answers, “Mein Hindi mein bol sakti hun and Punjabi vich vi gal kar sakdi han. My parents have made it a rule to speak our mother tongue at home. I relate with Indians as much as with Americans. My parents have kept our upbringing both Western and Eastern.”

Shree says her grandparents still live in Punjab and she visits them whenever she is in India. “Even though I spent a few years in school in India, my teachers have reached out to me and mentioned how I have accomplished my dream of winning the title,” she says. She had also shared a picture on Instagram, where she is dressed up as Miss World for Halloween at the age of six. 

Positive tool

The 25-year-old Shree, who has 325k followers on Facebook and 86.5k on Instagram, says one needs to be mindful on social media. “While we come across people and profiles, it should be taken as an inspiration rather than as comparison to our lives. A lot of hard work goes from my side when writing captions for each post because I intentionally try to keep it positive,” she says.