Miss India Teen New Jersey

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 Riya had the opportunity to participate in her first pageant - the Miss India Teen New Jersey Pageant in 2021. She won the title for the State of New Jersey. She competed in the Miss Teen India USA Pageant and was able to come in top 5 nationally. She was one of the youngest in her category and the youngest in top 5 at the age of 14. She wowed the judges with her fusion of Bollywood and Western music. She combined the song 'I Surrender' by Celine Dion with the song 'Mere Dholna Sun' by Shreya Ghoshal. Riya spoke on her Indian culture and discussed the unity in diversity, focus on family bonding and good morals, and the meticulous attention given to education and hard work while maintaining an aspect of spirituality.