Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2018 Kaaviya Sambasivam was born in Macon, Georgia and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is currently a freshman at the University of Georgia and is pursuing a double-major in business and psychology.

Because of her personal experiences as an Indian American woman and her passion for recognizing and celebrating different cultures, Kaaviya’s goal in the workforce is to become a civil rights attorney. Throughout the course of her life, Kaaviya has always been passionate about helping people who do not have the same access to opportunity as others. Thus, in the future, Kaaviya’s vow to her community is to help remediate the tensions and systematic issues by being a voice for those who feel underrepresented or fall victim to injustice.

In high school, Kaaviya was an Editor-in-Chief for Reynolds High School, an executive officer at NC Youth & Government, a member of the Conference on National Affairs, and an avid volunteer in both her community and at the Blind People’s Association in Ahmedabad, India. Kaaviya finds the most inspiration from her parents who are immigrants from South India, and accredits success in her life to the values and support that they provided to her.

Kaaviya began modeling at the age of 14. As a model, she pursued creative projects with artists located both in Winston-Salem and in the greater Atlanta area. Kaaviya’s debut in the pageant sphere began when she was a junior in high school. She competed three times, earning the titles of 2nd runner-up Miss NC Teen USA, 1st Runner-Up Miss NC Teen USA, and now, Miss NC Teen USA! Upon being crowned, Kaaviya has realized that persistence, patience, virtuousness, and the presence of supportive individuals are the most important factors for success.
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Kaaviya is proud to be a representative for diversity in pageantry and her ultimate goal is to inspire other young people to break boundaries, defy stereotypes, and blossom into the best versions of themselves.