Caitlin Sandra Neil discusses balancing pageantry, culture and college life at UC Davis
By JALAN TEHRANIFAR — [email protected]
19-year-old Cailtin Sandra Neil, a second-year cognitive science major, was crowned Miss India USA in December 2024 at the national pageant held in New Jersey.
Neil was born in Chennai, India and grew up in the small town of Mountain House, California. She attended Tracy High School before enrolling at UC Davis. Although she began competing in pageants only six months before her win, Neil says her passion for fashion has been a lifelong interest.
“Growing up, I’ve always loved fashion, and I [would] put on little fashion shows for my parents in our living room,” Neil said. “But growing up, I never had the confidence or even the means to go out and go into pageantry.”
Neil credits UC Davis with helping her gain the confidence to begin her pageantry journey, as it gave her the opportunity to explore new opportunities.
Her mother, Angelin Reuben, was a key motivator in encouraging Neil to showcase her talents while exploring her interest in fashion.
“My mom was telling me to get out of my comfort zone and compete in pageants,” Neil said. “So, I competed in one called Miss Asian Global in August, and that was my first-ever pageant. After that, I got a sub-award called Miss Asian [Best in] Cultural Attire, and then […] I [didn’t] know if I [wanted to] do another pageant. But I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll try it out, maybe one that I can represent my heritage and also my community here in America.’ So I competed in Miss India USA.”
The Miss India USA pageant consisted of four categories: Q&A, evening gown walk, cultural attire walk and a talent performance. The talents Neil chose to showcase at the competition were her singing and piano-playing abilities.
“I sang a song and played the piano along with it,” Neil said. “The English song was ‘I See the Light’ from [the movie] ‘Tangled,’ and then the Hindi one was ‘Kahaan Hoon Main.’”
Standing on stage alongside the four other finalists, Neil said she was in disbelief when she was announced the winner of Miss India USA.
“It felt absolutely surreal, I couldn’t believe it,” Neil said. “I was like, wait, did they actually say my name? Am I hearing things right now? I was so confused.”
She described trying to stay composed onstage while catching a glimpse of her family in the crowd, who were visibly emotional over her win, saying that she wanted to “hold it together.”
“I saw my mom in the corner of my eye […], and I was like, ‘Okay, don’t look over,’ [because] I could see my mom tearing up with happy tears,” Neil said.
Reuben described her daughter’s dedication to her high school extracurriculars.
“Reuben saw the potential in her daughter who was very involved during her high school years at Mountain House, playing varsity basketball and serving as secretary in [the Associated Student Body], student leadership,” an interview with CBS News reads.
Neil plans to continue competing in pageants while balancing her studies at UC Davis. She hopes to represent the United States in the Miss India Worldwide competition, which she said will take place in Mumbai, India before the start of fall quarter 2025. Academically, she aims to use her education to combine her creative and technical skills.
“I’m hoping to go into [User Interface or User Experience] design or product design; That’s kind of where my interests lie right now,” Neil said. “I want to be able to use my creative side and also my tech side as well.”
Neil also expressed gratitude for her friends that she made at UC Davis, saying they were supportive of her during her pageant journey and that they were excited for her when she won.
“[My friends] let me practice with them,” Neil said. “They’d practice Q&A questions with me so I could get the hang of it and be able to not freeze up on stage.”
Neil shared that she never imagined that she would become a role model, inspiring young Indian girls to chase their dreams.
“A little girl came to my house after, […] and she said, ‘I want to do pageants just like you,’” Neil said. “I never thought that I would be able to inspire people like that, but to see how other young women are inspired and want to pursue their dreams as well […] I’m honored to be their representative.”
With her crown in hand and her goals set high, Neil is ready to continue breaking barriers, inspiring others and representing her culture, as well as the UC Davis community, with pride and grace.
“When I was on the news with CBS and FOX40, everyone referred to me as a student from UC Davis — and I was like, ‘That is me, that’s my identity, that’s who I’m apart of and to be able to represent such a huge campus is truly an honor,” Neil said.
Written by: Jalan Tehranifar — [email protected]
