Asian 500 Festival princesses shine spotlight on scholarship program
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indy 500 Festival royal court is shining the spotlight on some budding princesses.
This Asian American Heritage Month, News 8 introduces a couple of the young women making a difference academically and in their communities.
Indy 500 festival princess representatives say the 33 young women who make up the queen and princess court come from all pockets of the community, showing that everyone has a part to play in building diversity and making a difference.
“I walked into this room with 33 other women and was so in awe and inspired by them,” said Meghan Reddy, a 500 Festival princess.
She and Unnati Nayak are college students, and two of the six Asian princesses representing the 2022 class. “It’s a great opportunity to connect with like-minded women all over Indiana and work together to give back, said Nayak.
Each selected has excelled academically and has a passion for community, a passion they’ve shown over the last couple months as a team through their work.
“The impact princesses have on the community, that’s what’s really attracted me and what motivated me to apply for this program, and I also loved how diverse the group of princesses,” Nayak said. “Diversity and inclusivity, to show you don’t have to look a certain way to be a princess or you don’t have to do certain things. You can just celebrate yourself as who you are.”
While Indianapolis celebrates activities leading up to race day on Sunday, it’s also a chance to celebrate differences. The scholarship is only part of the value the princesses find in the program. Being able to go into communities, hospitals and schools to give back holds the most weight.
“Some of the people that we interact with the most happen to be young children, and I think it’s super-important for them to start learning at a really young age that they are well represented and can see someone like themselves,” Reddy said.
Reddy and Nayak says the track to expand diversity has been laid, and they are excited to see where it leads.
“This was away for me to kind of bring everything full circle and give back to Indiana in the community that raised me,” Reddy said.
The festival recently named its first Hispanic queen scholar: Melissa Aceves.