On Nov. 18, Neha Krishna of Bellevue won the Washington State Miss Asia pageant held at the Hyatt Regency in Lake Washington. Krishna’s journey has been long, but she’s living her dream by being the new Washington State Ms Asia.

Krishna, 36 was born in India and has been in the United States for 10 years. She shared how her journey from being an immigrant to now being the crown holder has been exciting but extremely challenging.

At a young age, Krishna was interested in modeling but was encouraged by her family to pursue education instead. Krishna pursued an education and that brought her to hold positions in the human resources departments of major technology companies such as Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook, and now a recruiter Google. However, she realized that her heart and soul was in modeling and that is what she truly desired to do.

Her hard work and determination to pursue her dream brought her to this moment. Two years ago, Krishna applied to compete in the Ms. India pageant organization and that is where her pageantry journey started. In the Ms. India pageant, Krishna came in as a runner up and from that moment, she was determined to be crowned in the next pageant. Krishna had been preparing for the last eight months and it paid off.

During the crowning moment on Nov. 18, Krishna could not believe the final results. In a release, Krishna shared how winning the crown was a dream come true.

“The first name wasn’t me and the second name wasn’t me. They finally announced the winner and it was me,” Krishna said about the crowning. “I can’t [express] the feeling because this really means a lot to me.”

In a release, Menka Soni, CEO of Ravishing Women, (the nonprofit organization that organized the pageant) mentioned that Krishna’s immense positive energy and constant zeal to make a difference is what sets her apart.

By being the crown holder, Krishna hopes to change the way people think about American pageantry. She shared how women don’t need to look a certain way to be able to participate in pageants or modeling. Krishna shared that regardless of race and size, every women has the right to feel beautiful. She believes you don’t need to fit a certain definition to feel beautiful — it’s all about being confident and believing in yourself.

“You have to be both beautiful inside and outside,” she shared. “You have to be a complete wholesome person.”

Krishna’s goals include supporting social causes like mental health and giving back to her communities here in the United States and India. She will also compete in the Ms. Asia America contest in 2019.

Washington state Ms. Asia, Neha Krishna, and Ms. Africa, Shalom Aburu, pose for a picture together. Courtesy of RC ProductionZ.