Daughter of a Shillongite in fray for next year’s Miss America
Courtesy: The Telegraph
Shillong is excited about a success story unfolding in the US. Katherine Joy Putnam Dkhar, a 22-year-old American student born to a Khasi woman from Shillong and already crowned Miss Louisiana 2009, is also in the running for the crown of Miss America 2010 to be held in Las Vegas in January.
No wonder relatives and family friends here are excited about the forthcoming event and consider the Louisiana win of “one of their own” — a proud moment for Meghalaya. Her winning the Miss Shreveport crown was also a huge morale booster for her.
The eldest of the six children born to Louisiana-based Rev. Byron Wayne Putnam and Heather A. Putnam Dkhar, the student of the University of Louisiana in Monroe also won a scholarship of $10,000. Heather, a full-time church musician, is originally from Jaiaw Langsning locality in Shillong and has been visiting Shillong once a year since moving to Louisiana in 1983.
Katherine, who is of mixed parentage (her father is an American), was baptised in Shillong where she also has a house at Kenche’s Trace in the Laban area. The Miss Louisiana contest is primarily a scholarship programme that lays emphasis on scholastic achievement as well as talent and the ability to relate to people from all walks of life.
The secretary of Fashion Society Shillong, Wanisha Lyngdoh, said they were hopeful of Katherine doing well at the mega pageant. “She has a different look among the contestants and the way she answers the judges’ queries and the confidence she exudes are added advantages,” Lyngdoh added.
She should know. The Society organises the annual Miss Shillong pageant and looks forward to felicitating Katherine once she comes to Shillong. A. Pathaw, a college student here, said Katherine would be an inspiration for many talented girls from the Northeast and encourage them to dream big. “We look forward to the moment she wins the Miss America crown,” she said.
In an email interview to The Telegraph, Heather said it was a great moment for the family and Katherine’s hard work had paid off. She had been taking training for the Miss Louisiana title for the past three years, Heather added.
“Katherine has the right spirit and apt attitude to represent the state of Louisiana well this coming year in the Miss America pageant, and we feel this is an incredible platform for her to influence the lives of young people everywhere.”
“Her father and I have been her coaches to encourage and inspire her. She has worked extremely hard this past year in every phase of the competition. Katherine had an excellent pageant director and mentor who saw to it that she had everything necessary to prepare for the competition.”
Quoting Katherine after her win, her aunt Bethleen R. Dkhar, who is in Shillong, said: “It’s almost surreal — I can hardly believe it, I worked so hard and had the support of so many wonderful people. I am so thankful to God. Yes, I have been training for the Miss America pageant since I started the Miss Louisiana pageant, so I am ready to go. Let us go to Las Vegas!”
Besides her grace and beauty, Katherine also attracted the attention of the judges with her talent in playing the Halleluja Chorus on the piano.
The Miss Louisiana pageant was telecast live all over the state of Louisiana. Success, according to Katherine, “is not the destination, but finding joy in the journey”. The journey has just begun for Katherine as well as for her relatives and wellwishers back in Shillong.
No wonder relatives and family friends here are excited about the forthcoming event and consider the Louisiana win of “one of their own” — a proud moment for Meghalaya. Her winning the Miss Shreveport crown was also a huge morale booster for her.
The eldest of the six children born to Louisiana-based Rev. Byron Wayne Putnam and Heather A. Putnam Dkhar, the student of the University of Louisiana in Monroe also won a scholarship of $10,000. Heather, a full-time church musician, is originally from Jaiaw Langsning locality in Shillong and has been visiting Shillong once a year since moving to Louisiana in 1983.
Katherine, who is of mixed parentage (her father is an American), was baptised in Shillong where she also has a house at Kenche’s Trace in the Laban area. The Miss Louisiana contest is primarily a scholarship programme that lays emphasis on scholastic achievement as well as talent and the ability to relate to people from all walks of life.
The secretary of Fashion Society Shillong, Wanisha Lyngdoh, said they were hopeful of Katherine doing well at the mega pageant. “She has a different look among the contestants and the way she answers the judges’ queries and the confidence she exudes are added advantages,” Lyngdoh added.
She should know. The Society organises the annual Miss Shillong pageant and looks forward to felicitating Katherine once she comes to Shillong. A. Pathaw, a college student here, said Katherine would be an inspiration for many talented girls from the Northeast and encourage them to dream big. “We look forward to the moment she wins the Miss America crown,” she said.
In an email interview to The Telegraph, Heather said it was a great moment for the family and Katherine’s hard work had paid off. She had been taking training for the Miss Louisiana title for the past three years, Heather added.
“Katherine has the right spirit and apt attitude to represent the state of Louisiana well this coming year in the Miss America pageant, and we feel this is an incredible platform for her to influence the lives of young people everywhere.”
“Her father and I have been her coaches to encourage and inspire her. She has worked extremely hard this past year in every phase of the competition. Katherine had an excellent pageant director and mentor who saw to it that she had everything necessary to prepare for the competition.”
Quoting Katherine after her win, her aunt Bethleen R. Dkhar, who is in Shillong, said: “It’s almost surreal — I can hardly believe it, I worked so hard and had the support of so many wonderful people. I am so thankful to God. Yes, I have been training for the Miss America pageant since I started the Miss Louisiana pageant, so I am ready to go. Let us go to Las Vegas!”
Besides her grace and beauty, Katherine also attracted the attention of the judges with her talent in playing the Halleluja Chorus on the piano.
The Miss Louisiana pageant was telecast live all over the state of Louisiana. Success, according to Katherine, “is not the destination, but finding joy in the journey”. The journey has just begun for Katherine as well as for her relatives and wellwishers back in Shillong.
0 comments:
Post a Comment