At the age of 12, Saini was diagnosed with a complete heart block and has had a permanent pacemaker.
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Shree Saini has become the first Indian-American to win the Miss World America 2021 title. She is in fact the first Asian to win this title. Born in India, Shree’s family moved to Washington DC in the United States when she was all of five years of age.
Shree Saini made history when she got crowned as Miss World America 2021 in Los Angeles about a week back. In 2018, Saini was also crowned Miss India Worldwide at a pageant held in the Fords City of New Jersey.
The 25-year-old hails from Ludhiana, Punjab and was subject to a fair share of discrimination, both at school and at dance classes where she was enrolled from a young age. Shree Saini was born in Punjab in 1996 and has been residing in the United States from the age of five.
But it was her mother who was her constant support and encouraged her to find her own space in this foreign land. “I am happy and quite nervous. I can’t express my feelings (in words). All the credit goes to my parents, especially my mother because of whose support I am here. Thank you Miss World America for this honor,” she said.
During a press conference, Saini spoke about how her parents helped her in her moments of adversity, and how she was constantly told to choose resilience no matter what life throws at her.
Saini also took to her Instagram to share the news. She wrote, “I am the first American of Indian origin and first Asian to be crowned Miss World America.” The official Instagram page for America Miss World wrote, “Miss World America is proud to announce that Shree Saini has been elected to serve as Miss World America 2021!”
At the age of 12, Saini was diagnosed with a complete heart block and has had a permanent pacemaker. According to her website, she “began dancing at age 3, and continued to dance, even after receiving a pacemaker at 12 and being told she could never dance again. To regain her strength, Shree took extra dance classes and danced up to 6 hours a day for years. Shree is trained in ballet en pointe, contemporary, jazz, clogging and she even danced in her college hip hop team.”
Here are a few things you didn’t know about Shree’s journey so far:
When Saini was 12 years of age she was diagnosed with a rare heart condition, which led to her heart beating only 20 times per minute (an average person’s heart beats 70 times per minute). She had to undergo open-heart surgery where a pacemaker was inserted to make sure that her heart functioned well.
Saini was told that she would not be able to lead a normal life and was even asked to refrain from continuing her dance practice.
However, this did not stop her interest in dance and she pursued her passion with renewed vigor.
At 15, her mother fell ill and had to be put on life support. By this time, Shree had witnessed enough pain and decided on setting up an NGO to help people, like her, who were dealing with depression and other such ailments.
Four years later, Shree Saini met with a near fatal accident in which part of her face suffered partial burns and extensive bruising. While the doctors gave her one year of recovery time, she bounced back stronger in less than a month.
Known to be a good orator, several of Shree’s speeches at college garnered applause from the audience, she has also worked as model.
Among her many accomplishments, her work has been recognized by UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, Breast Cancer Foundation — Susan G Komen, and many others.
During an interview with ABC7, she said that it was her childhood dream to be Miss World and she wants to inspire others to rise above their challenges and achieve their dreams.
Whether it was being bullied or having to go through painful surgeries and an accident, Shree never gave up on her will to dream. She found ways to reinvent herself and move on at every stage. Her challenges never defined her life choices – it was her ambition that drove her to success.
Trained in journalism from the University of Washington, Saini has participated in various non-degree courses at prestigious universities such as Harvard University, Yale School of Drama, and Stanford University. As a trained ballerina, Saini has also been accepted to train at the premier dance company of Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, Illinois.
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Source: The Better India, Shethepeople TV
