DELAWARE — Hasini Jeyakumar is a junior at Big Walnut High School, co-captain of the color guard, a dancer and now, Miss Teen India Ohio 2026.
Jeyakumar has lived in Ohio since 2016, when her family immigrated from India. She was a first-grader then.
“I know more about the American culture than I do know about Indian culture, unfortunately, but I still try to keep them together and I still try to go with the flow in both like Indian-American cultures,” she said.
Now, she’s blending those two cultures together while exploring her pageantry dreams and modeling talents, all thanks to her courage to try new things.
Her talent is dance. She dances with Ohio State University’s Buckeye Fusion’s Indian dance team and Lewis Center-based Sai Art Group, a Bollywood dance academy.
She’s been dancing since as long as she can remember, including before she and her family immigrated from India. Her skills have already led her to dancing for a Cleveland Cavaliers pregame show.
But her community service and academic aspirations make her a well-rounded contestant too.
Jeyakumar already takes college-credit-plus courses at Columbus State Community College and she’s trying to obtain an associates degree in biology before she graduates.
“I want to become a dermatologist,” she said, with plans to continue her pre-med biology learning at Ohio State University.
“I just love keeping myself busy and when I don’t do something, it just bores me,” she said.
How Miss Teen India selected Jeyakumar
Jeyakumar reached out to the Miss Teen India agency last November asking for steps on how to enroll and what she should do.
A representative told her they weren’t planning to do a pageant for Ohio, because the competition is not in all 50 states.
“She told me, ‘You could get involved with modeling and walking the runway and stuff and when I think that you’re ready, I’ll give you the title so you can go participate in the USA competition,'” Jeyakumar said.
Jeyakumar was supposed to compete in the USA competition in March in New York, but severe weather and flooding forced the event organizer, India Festival Committee, to postpone it.
IFC rescheduled the national finals for December of this year instead, giving Jeyakumar more time to hone her skills, select the perfect evening gown and lehenga — a traditional Indian outfit worn for special occasions, such as a pageant.
In the finals, where Jeyakumar will face off against 15-17 girls from across the country, judges will select five semi-finalists to perform in a second talent round.
Judges will then crown the winner and two runner-ups.
The winner will advance to Miss Teen India World, and receive gifts from sponsors as well as a paid trip to the Caribbean to compete in that Worldwide pageant.
“When I was little, I never really thought too much of it. I wanted deep down to do pageantry and modeling, but my parents weren’t really big on that. They prioritized professions more,” Jeyakumar said.
Jeyakumar is also pursuing modeling opportunities as well, even signing with a Cincinnati-based agency.
