Sash & Soul
Welcome to the "Fearlessly Authentic: Sash & Soul Podcast," the show that goes beyond the stage to prioritize mindset, wellbeing, and triumphs in the pageant journey. Each episode explores the power of embracing authenticity, sharing mindset tips, self-care strategies, and inspiring success stories to help you navigate the pageant world with confidence and resilience.
Sash & Soul
#37 Beyond the Crown: Teen, Miss, Ms., and Mrs. Universal Petite
Let's talk about breaking stereotypes, embracing confidence, and proving that size has nothing to do with success!
In this episode of Sash & Soul, I'm sitting down with the reigning Universal Petite queens - four inspiring women who are using their platforms to empower others and redefine beauty standards. We're getting real about pageantry, self-doubt, and what it means to be fearlessly authentic in a world that often tells us we're "too little" to take up space.
Meet the Queens:
Teen Universal Petite 2024. Lorena Zoé Maldonado Cobián - Represented and lives in Puerto Rico. A passionate speaker and volunteer who's inspiring young girls to chase their dreams fearlessly. @teenuniversalpetiteofficial
Miss Universal Petite 2024, Catherine Gutierrez - Represented Cuba and lives in Miami. A model, nursing student, and education advocate proving that beauty and brains go hand in hand. @missuniversalpetiteofficial
Ms. Universal Petite 2024, Dr. Shruti Krishna Hegde - Represented and lives in India. A doctor, dancer, and philanthropist balancing medicine and the arts while empowering petite women worldwide. @msuniversalpetiteofficial
Mrs. Universal Petite 2024, Rachel Betterley - Represented and lives in USA. An art educator and activist using creativity to help children heal from trauma and adversity. @mrsuniversalpetiteofficial
What's in this episode?
- The ups and downs of pageantry - What people don't see behind the glitz and glam
- Overcoming height-related insecurities - Confidence, self-acceptance & standing tall (no matter your height!)
- Sisterhood & community service - How these women use their platforms for real impact
- Taking up space - Redefining beauty standards & owning your worth
If you've ever felt not enough, if you're working on your confidence, or if you just love a good, inspiring conversation-this one’s for you!
Learn more about the Universal Petite Organization:
IG: @universalpetite
Web: universalpetite.com
Free App Download: Click here to download the Fearlessly Authentic App!
Socials: @sashandsoul | @fearlesslyauthenticcoach | @raeannajohnson
Websites: www.fearlesslyauthentic.com | www.sashandsoul.com
Email: info@fearlesslyauthenticcoach.com
April Masterclass: Volunteerism & Service Click Here to Register
If you’re looking for more than just surface-level prep—and you’re ready to prepare with strategy, support, and confidence that actually lasts—I’d love to be part of your process.
Schedule a FREE Consultation: Book a Call
Hello, Sash and Soul fam, Welcome back. I am really excited. I've got four guests on the show today and they are stunning. I'm like sitting over here they're staring at me as I'm like doing this intro, like, oh my gosh, here we go. I'm really really excited for them to share their stories with you, for you to get to know them and be really inspired by everything that they're doing in their lives and in their unique corners of the world. So today we have our reigning universal petite title holders. These women are incredible. They are redefining beauty standards and using their platforms to inspire others in really powerful ways. Thank you for being here. I know you're on your media tour this weekend in Florida and it's been a long day already, but I'm so appreciative of you taking the time tonight to sit down and chat with me and share more about yourselves and more about Universal Petite and inspiring the listeners tonight, so welcome. I would love for you to each just give a quick introduction of yourself and then we'll dive into what Universal Petite is.
Lorena:Yes. So hi everyone, I am your current teen Universal Petite 2024. I am Lorena Zoe Maldonado-Cobian and I come from Puerto Rico, born and raised and still live there. And a fun fact about me, besides being a beauty pageant, in my daily life I study communications and marketing and I am a waitress.
Catherine:Hi everyone, my name is Catherine Gutierrez. I'm your current Miss Universal, petite 2024. And a little fun fact about me is that I'm currently a nursing student, so I'm ready to dive into that as well. Let's see.
Raeanna:Rachel. Welcome back, rachel. I'm back. Rachel was a guest on Sash and Soul before she won Mrs Universal Petite, so I'm like super excited we get to see you in both crowns.
Rachel:Yes, it's so exciting. Well, for those chiming in or listening new, my name is Rachel Betterly and I am the reigning Mrs Universal Petite, and a fun fact about me is that I am a Minnesota Teacher of the Year finalist, or I was in 2024. So that's a very fresh thing and I hail from Minnesota. I am a visual arts teacher. Awesome, welcome back. So happy to have you.
Shruti:Hi, I'm Dr Shruti Hegde. I'm the reigning MS Universal Petit 2024. And I'm from India. A fun fact about me is I just finished my MD dermatology and I'm the new dermatologist in town.
Raeanna:Oh, congratulations, that is so exciting. All right, so one of you, if you could just give us an overview of what Universal Petit is? I mean, I'm familiar because I was a judge a couple of years ago. I was actually the judge when Rachel won, and so I'm familiar. But just you know, give us an overview for our listeners, especially those that may qualify for the program.
Lorena:So basically is an opportunity for teens miss women that are married, that have kids and that are petite, because petite women are empowered and our height doesn't mean that we can't accomplish our goals. So this is a platform that us, as petite women, can show what we have and can show the world what we are, you know, in the inside. So I am very grateful to be in this platform because is like I feel very comfortable and with these girls also here that I love them.
Raeanna:So I am here with them on this platform. It is a really beautiful sisterhood. I can tell like, just scrolling through, seeing all the fun stuff that you guys have been doing already today and just throughout your reign already, and like just oh, everyone needs to follow them on social media because this is a really really cool group of women and to have a sisterhood like that that's so unique, to have this range of, you know, different backgrounds, different backgrounds, different ages, different walks of life and all coming together in this similar purpose of service and empowerment is really really beautiful. Okay, so what are the requirements then?
Rachel:So for this pageant system, it's five, six and under, and one of the things they really do look for and emphasize when you're a part of the program is the sisterhood component. It should be a space where petite women feel really empowered and they also feel really motivated to work together with your community service platforms, initiatives, whatever you want to call it. It really is something that's meant to empower but also to expand your network for petite women all over the world.
Raeanna:Yeah, Wow, incredible. I just I love that. I mean there's this is one of the really fun parts for me as a coach and as a host for this podcast being able to interview women that are holding titles in various different programs and the uniqueness that those programs bring to the table, and it's just really cool. So hopefully our listeners some of their ears might be perking up, if they qualify, to definitely look into Universal Petite, because it is a really beautiful, beautiful organization and I can speak from experience, having been to the national competition here in the US, so very cool. All right, let's dive into getting to know you a little bit more. So we know that Universal Petite celebrates women being five foot six and under. How has embracing your height influenced your self-confidence and your journey in pageantry?
Catherine:I also do modeling and I think it's such an important thing to recognize your height does not define you. It actually empowers you, especially as a petite woman. I'm five four and I think it's such an important thing to show that you could do anything you want. It doesn't matter your size, your ethnicity, your race, your gender. You could just do whatever you can, and I think that's such an important thing the Universal Petites family does. We encourage each other, we embrace each other and we're all strong women and I think we all recognize that and I think that's what is needed in society and I think universal critique does a great job for that.
Lorena:I will I will always say that maybe society puts limits in how we look. But it's not in how we look, it's how it's our interior, how we project ourselves to the world and what we are working with, our platforms and the message we want to give to other women and the women we want to empower. So it's not just the physical how we look, it's not the physical appearance, it's a lot of other things we embrace each other.
Rachel:I also think that we know how to take up space in a room, even though we don't have that, that space from a height perspective. You have to make the space, I think especially, and you do that with your personality and your impact.
Shruti:Yes, it's about what we are inside than what we look outside to the world.
Raeanna:What would you say is was I call it a mindset glitch? What would you say is a mindset glitch that you maybe had to overcome to get to this space of feeling empowered to take up space, even as a petite woman.
Rachel:Yeah, I feel like for me. I know I had to learn how to be more empowered with my height, because for so long I felt that I did have to wear the really, really tall heels in order to feel like I could compete, but in reality, that was making me more insecure with who I was, and so what I needed to find was really accepting all of who I am, but also being honest with myself that this, this is my height and there's no point in kind of hiding it Right? And so what Universal Petite does is it embraces that and it allows you to feel empowered in other ways.
Lorena:Yeah, as Rachel said about the high, there is still people that tell me that I can't do this because I am five two, you're you can't go to Miss Universe cause you're five two and they like want to turn off my dreams. But I don't let them to do that because in two and a half years I have accomplished so many things, being 5'2", that it doesn't matter the height because we are petite, we are empowered women and it doesn't matter if you're 5'2", 5'6", 5'8", 5'1". If you want to go to Miss Universe, go and do it. If you want to go to wherever you want in the world, it's possible Because, as I said in my final question in the pageant, that if going to the moon was not impossible here on Earth, everything is possible.
Catherine:I also think sisterhood also makes us stronger, recognizing. You know, she's a powerful woman, she's petite. She's a powerful woman, she's petite, I'm a powerful woman, I'm petite. Lorena is also a powerful woman, she's petite, and I think lift uplifting each other also helps us create space and and opens opportunities for all of us.
Rachel:Yeah, the glitch is just getting past your own mind, telling you you can't do that because X Y Z said you can't. That's the glitch.
Raeanna:Rihanna yeah, 100%, and I think what's beautiful is we all have these limiting beliefs and oftentimes these limited beliefs are related to the way that we look. I know I certainly have insecurities about myself, and I think, when you look to see what's accurate, rather than this fear based on something that maybe somebody else has projected upon you as you, what's accurate rather than you know this fear based on something that maybe somebody else has projected upon you, you know, as you were saying, Lorena, like people telling you that you wouldn't be able to be successful because of your height, but what this? What petite, what the petite organization has done for you as has given you evidence and proof that you can do anything, and it's by putting you in a group of like-minded women that all have very similar, you know um circumstances of you know of being under five foot six.
Lorena:Yeah, Confident with yourself and you feel comfortable with yourself and you love yourself. You can accomplish everything.
Raeanna:Everything, yeah, and the trick is getting there, and so I think sometimes, like having opportunities, like sisterhood, like you guys have, is definitely one of those helpful ways of of empowering yourself and getting through like that internal mental glitches. As Rachel said, pageants come with both really exciting and challenging moments, so what was the most unexpected lesson that you have learned so far? Getting to where you are now?
Shruti:The lesson that I have learned is that the sisterhood that we have. And suddenly when I come from India and go to an international platform where I have to meet the different cultural people, so in a way I thought maybe I will not be able to connect with everyone, but in this platform and Universal Petite I could connect with everybody, even when I know the language. When I don't know, but still I understood the language of not speaking. It's about the feelings, so that's something unexpectedly I understood in this platform.
Raeanna:Nonverbal communication is 55% of communication effectiveness. So when you connect with people emotionally, that's yeah, that's absolutely powerful.
Rachel:I always feel like in pageantry, lessons are learned the hard way and sometimes you need to learn those lessons the hard way. For example, your pageant didn't go how you planned and you might have lost or you might not have gotten a certain award that you really wanted or won a certain category, and a lot of the times those are lessons because you got to dial it back, self-critique and really think about maybe why that is, and that can be hard. Self-critique is really hard, right, and what pageantry does is it forces you to have those conversations either privately or with a coach or a mentor or whoever, and, as a result, you're going to grow, which is why so many women grow in pageantry and just scaffold who they are, their identity, their brand, and that's just. That's such a powerful thing. But it's also going to come with those hard lessons that you have to go through with pageantry.
Catherine:I'm also saying like in the pageant, when I did my evening gown somebody, they were opening my tail. Somebody accidentally stepped and I was like, oh my goodness and again, I'm the only one that notices this. I looked at the video back and I'm like I'm the only one that notices and I realized that sometimes when you look at, when you focus on the small things, it becomes such a big issue for you and it doesn't matter. I think it should be the way you present yourself. It should be everything. I think also, the internal struggle of making, um, small things into big things also is taught through pageantry as well that you have to take it, you have to take life easy and you want to show your support, you want to spread the word about your platform and I think that's the most important thing yeah, focus on what really matters and span out your perspective to the big picture we have been asked about something that is there.
Shruti:In some subjects it's not about us ourselves. So suddenly, when we come to pageantry, it's all about us. So the questions when they ask, that's when we start thinking okay, these are the questions we never thought in our life and this is where I, we actually understand ourself, who we are, and that's the exciting and also the hardest part to understand us yes, because usually if you go to a normal person, like when I started pageantry, that they that my coach for the first time.
Lorena:She asked me who are you? And I was like I don't know and then when I kept through classes I've been already through three pageants you asked me who is Lorena and I can tell you who is Lorena. But two years and a half ago I didn't know who Lorena was. I was me and that's all I knew. So pageantry helps you to get to know you in a deeper level.
Raeanna:Yeah, when you're faced with those challenging like internal questions and like someone is actively challenging you to, to look inward and see who you are and be able to articulate that, that is definitely I would, I would argue, one of the toughest questions when it comes to, like prep for interview or being asked that in interview because it's there's so much. But then also, how do you like, how do you?
Rachel:divide that into a solid little response yeah.
Catherine:Summarize your entire existence in one sentence or two sentences or even less. Sometimes, three words yeah, yeah.
Raeanna:Yeah, absolutely All right. Fearlessly Authentic is the name of my coaching program. It stemmed from when I was competing for Miss Wisconsin in 2014. My sister sent me a card on the final night of competition and at the bottom of it it was the anonymous quote be fearlessly authentic. And I, like lost it started crying because it was just such a powerful reminder to me of, like, why I was there and what I wanted to present as Miss Wisconsin throughout my year, and so it became a theme for me. And then, you know, five, six years later, when I finally launched my coaching program, it just made perfect sense, because that's what I want to instill in my clients as well. So, in a world where, as you know, perfection is often emphasized, especially in beauty pageants, how do you stay fearlessly authentic and true to yourself?
Rachel:Yeah, I know, for me it is about my creative expression.
Rachel:So for me, authenticity and feeling most connected to myself is when I feel like I am being really creative.
Rachel:With the process of pagery I like to see competing as a form of art, and when I have that lens I'm like who am I as the artist? What is the canvas that I am manifesting here on this stage? What am I performing and how does that relate to who I am? And I'm like well, there's other artists on the stage and they are presenting their canvas to the world and it's not that one's better than the other, it's just that's their representation, that is what their, their creativity is putting out there, and it's like it's good to be different. And so in pageantry I feel like we get the mold where we feel that we have to copy, to be XYZ or be like this type of winner which you know in some respects, understanding how, how things are as a form of history, is how we learn. But at the same time, we have to keep that individuality and I always ask myself am I losing sight of of who I am, who Rachel is?
Shruti:and if I keep to that, I feel like I stay fearlessly authentic when I started pageantry, when these questions were asked to me, I have understood who I am. The more I understand, the authenticity comes by itself, and whenever I go somewhere, I don't try to copy person, I just take something, a sense of it, but then I put my own thought to it. It's like my authenticity comes outside. So the passion to help me to be authentic and yes, that's how it's there inside it just keeps coming out.
Catherine:In school, I feel like I was always the weird kid. I felt out of place and all that stuff, and I think it came from the inside. I love who I am now. I think I'm amazing and I think realizing that you're not just a weird kid or you don't have friends or anything, doesn't necessarily mean you're the problem. It might be just an issue with other people. And I think being authentic to yourself is realizing. We all have quirks, we all have issues. No human is perfect. I think it's important realizing, since you're not perfect yourself either. You continue to strive for better, you continue to strive for knowledge. You continue to strive to see the world in a beautiful lens.
Lorena:It's being comfortable with yourself and knowing that you are not the one that is doing a bad thing, you know. So it's just being confident and comfortable with yourself and there the authenticity, authenticity, authenticity, yeah. That word is hard for me to pronounce. I'm sorry, that's okay. I agree, actually Well then it's going to be in your life present.
Raeanna:Oh well, said all of you. I love that because, yeah, that's absolutely true. The better that you know yourself, the more that you can be real and showcase the depth of who you are, and that is truly what being authentic is, and doing it without any kind of apologies at all, for sure. Before we move on to talking to each of you individually, I have one more question, and I think it's a perfect way to wrap up, kind of the overall conversation we've been having. But for anyone who is afraid to take up space, because maybe they don't, you know, really know who they are, they have these mindset glitches of, you know, feeling like they're not good enough or don't look the part, um, whether that's in pageantry or in life, what advice would you give them?
Catherine:Don't I? For me, I personally think don't be. Don't have a fear of taking up space. You know you're a human. You should take up space, no matter where you're from or no matter what background. No matter, you're diverse. This is this world is so diverse. So, in order to take up space, you have to, in order, you don't have to take the mode, but you can make your own space for it. And, besides taking it up, you can actually make it yourself, and platforms like yours, platforms like Universal Petite, make that space and allow others to share their story.
Lorena:Just shine being yourself. Don't fake someone you are not to fit in a place. Just be yourself and you will fit in the place you need to be.
Shruti:So I would say get out of your comfort zone every single day. The more you challenge, the more you understand yourself, the more confidence you will have from within and that's how you will outshine and you will have your own space.
Rachel:My advice is it's okay to do it scared, because that is going to be how you grow and how you evolve and learn more about yourself. And at times, let's admit, pageantry can be a little bit scary, especially if you're very, very new to it. And so it's like that feeling of, oh, am I going to enter a pageant, oh, I need to put this money down or I need to do this, and it's like a scary moment. There's like adrenaline. I feel like when you do it and it's like it's okay, it is okay to have that, and just know eventually you're going to get more and more comfortable. And then it becomes exciting, and then it becomes something that's thrilling, and then you're like, oh, I can do this, and you feel like you can, kind of like you're okay with if someone says no, and you accept that and you move on or you find other opportunities. You just get more and more comfortable with yourself and so just do scared, it's gonna be fine, and you realize it's not so scary.
Lorena:I started pageantry being scared because when I started two years and a half ago, I didn't know what a pageant was like. I watched Miss Universe and that was all. But that's not it. Like into the world. So I started my first pageant without knowing anyone, like zero. And I started with beer. And now I'm here, an international queen.
Rachel:So yeah, yeah. And knowing that there's so many different types of pageant systems out there, it is not this box where you have to do xyz pageant system. You can also research and do and find the system that works best for you and your lifestyle, and who? You are, do your research and have fun and know that there's so many opportunities out there. You just got to find them.
Raeanna:Pageants should be fun, period, and if they feel like a chore, if it feels like something that is just like dragging you along, like yeah, absolutely Should be fun. And if you're not having fun, we got to reassess and figure out where to go from here.
Lorena:For me, it's a hobby. I enjoy doing pageants.
Rachel:It's a hobby, it's a hobby, but it can be a very empowering hobby. Not just yourself, but the people around you, and you can really make a difference. But at the end of the day, you really should be enjoying.
Lorena:Yeah, you become an example for other women.
Rachel:I just keep saying I love us, like that's my theme all week that is her quote.
Raeanna:I love us yeah, you need to get like one of those frames that says I love us.
Rachel:It's just like all of us, yeah, for each of you, just our faces, nothing else. Yeah, yep.
Raeanna:Yep, I love us. Yeah, that's great. All right, let's dive into each of you individually. I want to get to know more about each of your beautiful hearts and souls for service, and so I'm going to start with Lorena. So we know that you are passionate about inspiring young people, so what is one message that you wish every young girl could hear?
Lorena:So, as I said um before, that if going to the moon was not impossible, here in earth anything is impossible. And I passed through bullying because of what I want in life, because of my dreams. And I will say to that girl that is watching me that don't be afraid of what I want in life because of my dreams. And I will say to that girl that is watching me that don't be afraid of what your dream is, because if you know that it's something good for you, if you know that you're passionate about that, and if you know that it's going to do good for you and you're going to be good, your mental and emotional health are going to be stable.
Lorena:Do it and don't forget about what other people will say to you, because you will always have people that will tell you good things and bad things. So turn those bad things to good things and the good things, take them and just be. You. Prepare yourself for what life has because you're accomplishing your goals. It's hard, is very hard, but with discipline and with passion you can do it. You will have a lot of steps to go, you will fall, but you keep climbing them and you will get to them.
Raeanna:So I will say, yeah, I think so often we, we know like there's this thing. You know, this fear of failure is very, very real, but oftentimes I think we forget that there's also a fear of success. Right, and I think that's what you're talking about is like we have these big goals but then too afraid to actually reach for them and go for them. So, yeah, I think I think that's beautiful advice. And so you, you talked about, like when you first started pageants, you were afraid.
Lorena:What was the thing that like pushed you into it to face your fears anyway, I was like I want to do this, I want to try this, I really want to know if I really like this. So I'm going to do it. I was a girl that didn't like to take pictures, didn't like to talk. So my mom was like are you sure you want to do this? Because pageants is a lot of pictures, you need to talk a lot. And I was like I'm going to try it. So she was like okay, let's go to the end of the world if you want. So I went to the end of the world and I pushed myself and I took classes, diction classes, I prepared myself and I lost that fear of talking in public and I will forever be grateful that I took that decision, because in pageants I learned what I really want to be in life and I want and I'm starting communications because I want to be in the TV in the future.
Raeanna:So yes, yeah, amazing, Combating your fear of public speaking.
Lorena:And now you're going to be on TV someday like Someday like two years and a half ago, I wouldn't imagine I was going to be saying that I wanted to be on the TV because I was a girl that didn't like to talk with anyone, like literally with anyone, don't?
Rachel:they say public speaking is like the number one fear, even about spiders or something. I think, yeah, I've heard something like that.
Raeanna:Yeah, yeah. Well, you know you're really big on community service. What has been a defining moment for you in your volunteer work, really?
Lorena:big on community service. What has been a defining moment for you in your volunteer work? So in December 24, 2024, I went to a house where there were two sisters, one was like, I think, like 13, the other one was like seven, and I brought to them toys, clothing, decorations for her room, for her bed, and they saw me and they hugged me and they told me like, oh, my God, thank you, why are you doing this? Why do you do this? Why did you came here and it was. I was just like I, I'm just here because something told me go there, go to that family and give them all the things that you bought to them. Give them to them. And they were very happy. She, she started crying and I was like, ok, I'm going to start crying because I'm all right. I did a video, very beautiful. It important thing in my life and in my heart, because I impacted a life of two girls in a very positive way and they will never forget about me and I will never forget about them.
Raeanna:And what a beautiful thing, too, for them to always keep with them and then, probably in ways that you will never know, pay that forward someday because of your act of kindness. That's beautiful, all right. So as we were talking, we were talking about public speaking, that this has become a skill that you've developed through pageantry. What is one of your favorite opportunities that you've had to speak publicly?
Lorena:When I won the international in Puerto Rico, my national director took me to the TV channel early in the morning and they did an interview to me about how was the pageant representing Puerto Rico and that was like one of my first experiences, like being actually in a studio with you know, all the professionals that I want to become, professionals that I admire. So for me, that was a very important public speaking moment for me and I had my family watching me in my house and they were like sending me videos, like oh my God, you're in the TV, like you are in the TV, like I'm watching you. So that was very, very funny and important.
Raeanna:What did it. Yeah, what an incredible defining moment for you that just really shifted things in such an immense way.
Lorena:The most meaningful part was when I finished and I got out of the studio, my family sending me all the videos you are in the TV, like my sister was like okay, my sister is actually in the TV, okay, and I'm like, yeah.
Raeanna:Other than communication and your degree and going into TV. What is another big goal that you're going towards that you want to achieve after, after, this title?
Lorena:Well, I will. I will love to have a business in Puerto Rico with my dad. He cooks and he has always, since I am little, he has always said that he's going to have his first restaurant with me. So I want to accomplish that goal of him and I want to open that restaurant with him and he also has, like I don't know if you know what chimichurri is. It's like a sauce that you put in bread, so he makes that and he sells it and I want it to be like from a local thing to be something international. So I am currently working in that with my dad because I really want to accomplish that goal of him and I want to be there for him. So for me, that is a goal I want to accomplish because he has always been in my life along with my mom helping me and everything, and they are always there like, do you want to do this? Okay, we will go to the end of the world.
Raeanna:I don't know why I would ever be surprised to know that, like your idea of like big dreams have to do with helping other people achieve their dreams. Like I've known you for a half hour now and it just makes perfect sense to me.
Lorena:My parents have done everything, like they are always there for me. So I get emotional because I love them a lot and without them, like I wouldn't be the woman I am currently. So I I love them a lot so, yeah, I love you.
Rachel:You're kind of great.
Lorena:You can see why she's so I know that my parents will see this. So, mom and dad, like I love you a lot and you have gone with me to the end of the world, so I want have gone with me to the end of the world, so I want to go with them to the end of the world also. Yeah, so you make all of us cry, oh my gosh.
Raeanna:Well, congratulations to you. I am so excited to see where your goals and dreams take you. It's it's going to be a really exciting ride. This is just. This is the start. This is absolutely just the start for you, shruti you I'm reading your bio like is there anything this woman has not done? You are insanely amazing and you have, like, this really unique blend of medicine. You've got dance, you've got philanthropy. How in the world do you manage it all?
Shruti:This is the most often asked question to me, but what I've learned from my own journey is that when you have a purity in mind and that 100% effort, that when this brain and when you combine heart, you don't have to find time, the time itself will find you. And that's how I've been living my life, doing everything in this world.
Raeanna:I'm going to take that with me, because I've got a lot of stuff on my plate right now and I think that's my biggest concern. It's like I don't have enough time to get all this done. I need help, but I think as long as you are following the joy, then everything else will fall into place. Yeah, as a dancer, you have performed over a thousand times. How has dance shaped your perspective on discipline and on perseverance?
Shruti:I started Indian classical, that is, barkha Natyam, at the age of five, so I had to balance my studies and dance together, and sometimes you have to go perform somewhere and the practice that we do before and, along with that, if there is exams, I had to study for that as well. So combining everything and still getting the best out of both has taught me the discipline that I put into the hard work and being punctual to what I'm doing. So this is something I've learned from through dance, and I've been applying this to every field that I do being punctual, being disciplined and the effort that I put in. That's what has led me so far in all the elements that I embody right now.
Raeanna:All right, one of the initiatives that you have is Shrama Is that how you say it which focuses on health initiatives. What have you been able to accomplish with that so far?
Shruti:The story behind starting Shrama. There are two reasons before that. So first reason is I was diagnosed to have uterine and ovarian tumors in 2018. So that's when I realized the importance of screening tests. That has to be done but the people are not aware of. So I started with the health education so that to understand, to make people aware of what are the things that they have to undergo at a certain age. And then I realized people don't actually have money, even if they have the understanding of getting the test, or so I started funding them to undergo a screening test and then, how much ever I could to get a treatment done with, I generally did with medical issues, but when it comes to surgery surgery I couldn't help them much.
Shruti:Later on I realized there are so many other underprivileged people with the education or maybe physically challenged people, so that's how I started having a fund and distributing it to them to have the better life. And the other reason is my dad. He he's also a doctor and in the last 50 years he has never taken a consultation piece from anyone and he works day and night. So any phone call if someone calls and tells him, even in the middle of the night, that I'm sick. He just wakes up and goes there and treats and come back. So that's hard work. In our language is called shrama, so that's what I gave the name, shrama, and that's how I'm working towards.
Raeanna:So is your dad why you were inspired to get into medicine.
Shruti:I am not sure, because I don't even remember when people asked me and when I started telling I want to be a doctor. I think the first thing when people asked me when I started schooling what do you want to become? I said doctor and that's what stuck with me and I've never changed that.
Raeanna:So it seems like it's just very much a part of your personality to help other people and heal and influence people in that way to help themselves too. That's very, very powerful. In that way to help themselves too. That's very, very powerful. Finally, I know we've talked about this a little bit, but for you in particular, what is one stereotype about petite women that you really want to help break?
Shruti:I always wanted to try pageantry, but then, when I had the knowledge of getting into it, I realized that I am nowhere in the world of competing because I'm 5'2 and I couldn't get into any pageantry. Then I thought maybe my dream is crushed there. It just stays the dream. But then there were opportunities which opened up where the petite women was taken into consideration for the pageant. And now, being in the international platform, I realized petite is powerful and we have to embrace who we are. And I love being petite. Actually, there was a time when I thought I should have been taller so I could have had more space. But then I realized it's not about like what the appearance is, it's about how powerful our mind is and how that's what, how we gonna conquer the world. So all the petite out there, don't even think that you're petite or anything else, you're just powerful. You're powerful as every individual in this world is. So conquer yourself, then you can conquer everything in this world.
Raeanna:Do you think that the stereotypes are more coming from external perspectives or from your internal, like insecurities and thoughts about it, or both.
Shruti:When we start, we actually don't know where we actually stand. It's we don't know that we are petite or how we are. It's the external factors when the people talk about it, and that's when we realize, oh, is this my deficiency? And then we, okay, this is my deficiency, so. And then we say, okay, this is my deficiency, so that's how it is. So once you stop listening to negative people around, you don't have to take that inside, so you're powerful within.
Raeanna:Amazing. Well, you have so much to offer and I'm really excited for you as you embark upon, like you know, your career now, and I'm excited to see everything else that you accomplished accomplish with trauma and I'm excited to follow your journey too. So thank you so much for sharing. Miss Rachel, we're coming to you next. In the hot seat. You use art to help children heal.
Rachel:You do this as an educator. You do this as part of your platform and service work. Can you share a teacher? And the emotion that students have through their art and their willingness to just take that step, to be vulnerable through their art keeps me staying in the realm of education and knowing that I've had students where they share how art has helped save them. Um, and that's really intense as a teacher. Yeah, so that's why I stayed. I do what I do, um, I don't think I'd get emotional, but um, my emotional is contagious, so it's been a long day for us, um, but I just think that art is such a it's a.
Rachel:it's a powerful thing and I know it works because of my own trauma that I've uh has as a child, and so it's just such a healing thing and I'm just so happy to be able to share it with everybody and have people uh willing to, to listen and to help. All these women have been helping me with my Sketchbooks for Kids campaign and it's just been such a beautiful thing to see it blossom.
Raeanna:So part of the work that you've done has been raising money for food banks. You've raised over $25,000 for food banks, which is incredible. What drives your passion for I mean you? You do this through art, through through the pottery work that you do as part of part of your platform, but what drives your motivation to support food banks specifically?
Rachel:Well, that's so. So that's been going on for 12 years. It's something that I do annually, and it's through a project called Empty Bowls, and it's actually a global project that art teachers all over the world know what Empty Bowls is, and essentially what you do is you have artists and students make ceramic pottery and then you sell them with soup meals, and the Empty Ceramic Bowl is supposed to represent someone going hungry somewhere in the world. So it's a collective experience where, coming together, we can help at least do our part to somewhat end global hunger in our local communities. And I find that so powerful, and the reason why I keep doing it is one I have students who are always willing to help, because you can't put on such a big event where you're raising thousands of dollars by yourself. It's impossible.
Rachel:And so for me, we all have our things that we do, and whether that's through my volunteers that make the soups, my students who make the bowls and then running it, it's like a well-oiled machine right now, and I know that the community is very invested in it and they know what Empty Bowls is where I'm from, and so because of that, it's a continuous thing where they continue to come back. They continue to support it. So as long as the community continues to come back to support that, I can't see that going away. And it's like when we're all working together. It's just like with the sisterhood. It's just like universal fatigue, like you really need to have that collaboration to be able to feel empowered. And when you feel empowered you're going to feel motivated to want to keep doing it year end and year out.
Raeanna:What is a misconception about art as therapy that you wish people understood?
Rachel:I always say the biggest misconception is that you have to be really good at it in order to heal from it, or you have to have a certain skill level to really appreciate the depths of what art can provide, which is so completely false, because art is subjective, right? Art can be anything. Art can be dance. Art can be music. Art can be drawing, be dance. Art can be music. Art can be drawing, pottery, photography, whatever it is. I just encourage people to do it. And so the biggest misconception is oh, I'm not artsy, so I'm not going to benefit from that, and it's like well, let's back up here. Our whole world is art. Our whole essence of humanity is rooted in the arts and expression, whether that's culturally, whether that's personally, and so I always say that's not an excuse.
Raeanna:So true, so so true, All right. And finally, you mentioned your 2024 nominee of Teacher of the Year and this brought you to being featured on Good Morning America and on ABC, and now also being an international title holder. How do you stay grounded in the public eye?
Rachel:Well, I think we know I stay grounded through being a teacher because of that, and so I know my students are always going to humble me. I am humbled all the time. Let's be real, being a teacher is not always the easiest thing to do, and I kind of joke that it's my polar opposite self, because I'm going to school with dingy pants that have pottery stains on them and I'm working at the wheel with no makeup on, and so it's funny, because if my students do see me in this light, it's like a yin and a yang, but I always want to encourage if my students do see me in this light, it's like a yin and a yang, but I always want to encourage that you can do all the things, you can be all the things. You don't have to be just this one type of person.
Rachel:And I think it's through that where I stay grounded in the sense of, well, today I'm just going to be that teacher that's hanging out at the pottery wheel and they're keeping me grounded through that. And I think if you, if you have that and you look through that perspective of, well, I don't, I don't have to be this today, I can just hang out and I can just chill, and I think that's such a humbling thing to be able to recognize all the hats that we wear in our lives, like, for example, I'm also a mom, I'm also a wife. I also have really amazing sister queens sitting next to me right now I'm also talking to you, rihanna, and it's like when you recognize all of those things and know that they're all different but they're all special in their own way.
Raeanna:I think that just gives you the humility that you need you the humility that you need, like diving in and leaning into the different hats that we wear, is grounding, absolutely. Well said, well said, yeah, well, thank you, it's good to have you on again, all right. And then, last but not least, we have Catherine, and I actually, like you were going to go before on my list. I saw Rachel look at you because I know that you've had kind of the outline, and I was like, oh wait.
Catherine:Oh shoot.
Lorena:Oh well, here we are.
Raeanna:All right. So, catherine, you went from modeling at 15 to now being a title holder, to being a nursing student. What has been the biggest shift in your personal mindset along the way?
Catherine:Let me tell you, when I was 15, I was a whole, completely different person. I feel like I was kind of reborn in a way. I was in a really dark, deep place in my life and Monlee allowed me to be able to shine and I think it's such an important thing. You know modeling, you're going to hear a lot of no's and you're going to get a lot of things from it. Modeling led me to pageantry. I had a mentor. She was my national director. I forgot to mention, I'm sorry, I represent Cuba. I live in Miami currently.
Catherine:I think it's such an important thing that pageantry does build self-confidence. Pageantry allows you to be pushed into places you never thought you were going to be. And I think the beauty of patentry it allowed me to be confident in myself, to realize I respect your job, rachel, I really do. I looked back and I go what do I really? I reflected, I think, a little after the patent. I was like what do I really want to do with my life? Where is education what I really want to do? And I had to take like a month to sit back and go. Hey, I can either go and be a teacher. I would love to do it.
Catherine:I was thinking about being a special ed teacher, special education or do I want to go into nursing, which is also helping people, also saving lives, and being the first responder when somebody gets the hospital. Basically, you're the person that documents, You're the person that makes sure they're okay. It's an important healthcare professional that is in dire need of more as well. I think I manage it because I want to, because I thrive sometimes in chaos, and I think life is going to be really chaotic, unfortunately, and there's going to be places. Sometimes you're going to go no, no, no, no, and you're not the power through it, and ever since I was 15, I learned through that. I was 15 really dark place. I'm now 24 in a really good place, and it's it's so fulfilling now that I'm able to shine and make my dreams come true.
Raeanna:Yeah, oh, I have nothing to say to that. That was so beautifully said, thank you. I know that you are passionate about education, advocacy which I think is maybe where you're pouring in this heart to help others as far as education goes, as you're going into nursing instead. But what sparked this mission for you?
Catherine:I work with a program called Just to Assess Miami for you. I work with a program called Dress to Recess Miami. They're a wonderful organization. They help people find jobs that are in low income areas as well. It's essentially like renting the clothes kind of. They allow them to have clothes for the first job interview and if they get the second job interview they also allow them to also have the clothes, and then, if they get the job, they get to keep the clothes. And I've realized that education, whether it's through life itself, through an institution, is so important and especially nowadays you need so much knowledge what's going around the world and I think that's an important thing being educated on facts, knowing stuff, knowing statistics, because knowledge is power and knowledge can't be really taken away from somebody knowledge is power and knowledge can't be really taken away from somebody.
Raeanna:150%, yes, I completely agree. So, shifting back to modeling, you walked in New York Fashion Week Cool, I'm like I've always wondered, like how that happens, how do you get to that? And Miami Swim Week. So how did you overcome, like you talked about, being told no so often in modeling and everything, but how did you overcome industry standards that often favor taller models?
Catherine:I think it's important to realize all the no's you're going to get through life are learning lessons. But all the yeses are the most impactful, I think, recognizing not just the height but the person itself, what you're looking for as well. These are all beautiful women I don't think they should be discriminated on their height and they have all beautiful bodies. So, to walk in Miami, actually to walk in New York, I think it's such an important thing. You'll find your people. You find your tribe through yeses and I think I found my people, my tribe, through those yeses, and I was able to walk in New York and I was able to walk in Miami, and I think that's such a valuable lesson in life. Yes is is amazing and no is also amazing as well, but no leads you to the yeses, okay.
Raeanna:I'm so excited to listen back to this conversation so that.
Lorena:I can write down some of these quotes that you women are sharing, cause I'm like what like?
Raeanna:where's my pen? So many beautiful little Cause I'm like what like? Where's my pen? So many beautiful little clips that I'm like I want to just remember that forever. Oh my gosh, all right. So, speaking of industry and the way that the world views beauty, what would be one thing that you would want to change about how society views beauty?
Catherine:I think beauty is a social construct. I think beauty, you know people say oh, there's beauty with a fan, there's beauty with a file, like physical. I think there's beauty in this Like. I think the word of the day that I think we've all said like once or twice is sisterhood, and beauty is within the relationships we make and I. Relationships are so important to grow as a person and be a stronger person, and it will put you in nature to be by yourself and look and see all around you. You only live once and you have to make it as beautiful as possible. Beauty isn't just again, within and without, it's all around us. I think that's what beauty is and I wish people saw that.
Raeanna:Oh my gosh. You guys I could talk to you for hours and as I say that, you're probably like, no, we're so tired, so let's dive into just some really fun rapid fire questions as we wrap up this conversation.
Catherine:I wish we had a buzzer, cause you, you're all like, ooh, I'm ready for this.
Raeanna:If you could swap lives with another title holder for a day, who would it be and why?
Rachel:Trudy, why? Well, one, her culture is so supportive of the title. It's like man, you would have thought she was God when she came home. I mean, she kind of is Just. Her world is so immersive and, like you said, she does all the things. So I, I would, I would, yeah, in a heartbeat for a day.
Raeanna:I love it okay, what is the weirdest or funniest pageant moment you've ever had?
Catherine:okay, I mean, this is kind of weird do it, we love okay so, so, um, so, a nationals, um, when I competed for my title for cuba, um, I had. It was so weird and so embarrassing, but I'll tell it anyways. I mean, it's on the world now I already said that um
Catherine:so I had like this girl. I had to help her with her dress and I had to, like it's so weird, I had to hold her underwear to make sure it didn't go down the dress and I was like, oh, this is a little too for comfort, this is sisterhood.
Rachel:So sometimes you have to do a lot more. I have a weird one. One of the things I had to do funny in a local Miss America competition we got ready in tents because the pageant was outside on an outdoor stage.
Raeanna:So wild, wild right, Wait, where in Minnesota was this? I'm in Wisconsin so I need to know Duluth.
Rachel:Duluth, yeah, and it was only a one-year pageant, one and done. Can you see why? Yes?
Catherine:I thought this was like an inside thing? We don't know about that at all.
Lorena:Yeah, I have one that I never thought I was going to be saying publicly. I don't know if I'm going to my dress and when I was doing that, you know the rush like I need to go and do my gown uh runway. Um well, when I uh took my swimsuit off, I put my underwear to put the my dress. I put my underwear like the other way, I don't know. Yeah, it was backwards. I love that. So that's, that's like slightly, you don't need to know anything else, all right.
Catherine:So there's more to the story, but oh my god yeah, that's the funniest thing I don't think I've ever heard trying to imagine, and I mean how uncomfortable that would be All right.
Raeanna:Next, what, what song hypes you up before a competition or in general?
Lorena:OK, so I can answer. Ok, so my favorite artist is from Puerto Rico. He's called Raul Alejandro and I was very nervous obviously. Obviously the day of the international and when we are ready to do our gown walk, the song that is that we are going to walk is from Raul Alejandro. So I was like oh my god. So my nerve just went that I was not nervous and I did that walk like like you know, like very, very like in in my world, because that's my favorite artist and when I'm stressed or something, I put his music and I'm okay. So hearing him in my final, in our final, was like, oh my gosh, the world is like in my favorite so yeah.
Rachel:You're going to think this is. I love those moments, this is funny, but one one song, such a good hype song, uh, so the movie fast and furious with khalifa when he goes one shot, we own it like. Listen to that song and you will be hyped for your pageant, promise you.
Shruti:I like the song. I'm Unstoppable. So every time I have to go on stage, irrespective of what I'm going on stage to, I listen to that song and I come out of it.
Rachel:That's awesome. I love that.
Catherine:I have a weird one. I love EDM music so sometimes I'll listen. Because you said Fast and the Furious, I sometimes listen to Tokyo Drift Just on repeat. It's just something that always gets stuck in my head and I'm like I love this song. It's so high energy, it just builds me up. Those are great.
Raeanna:I should put those in the show description.
Rachel:Lots of diversity.
Lorena:A little bit of everything here that's what makes us.
Raeanna:That's what makes us yeah okay, I want to hear from each of you on this one. Describe your reign in one word.
Lorena:I will say impactful yeah.
Catherine:I was going to say that I think it's important healing unimaginable.
Shruti:You wouldn't have thought how it would be, but this is how it is.
Raeanna:Oh my gosh, I have to end on that one. I had one more, but I just that was really powerful. So that was really cool. So, just wrapping up here, let's see for young women listening to, um, to all of you, and they dream of competing, but maybe they have, you know, their own inner limiting beliefs. Uh, for any reason, what's the best piece of advice that you can give them?
Lorena:I will say uh, to believe in yourself and never doubt of the potential you can give the world. Um, and look to yourself in a mirror and talk good to yourself and say I'm powerful, I can do this. And if this is my dream, I know I'm going to accomplish it.
Shruti:Doesn't matter if it's in a week, in a month, in five years, I'm still going to do it I would like to give one word advice to them, that is, start, irrespective of what they think inside, just start, don't fear of anything else. So most of us we procrastinate and we never start at all. We just talk about it. So if they start, then they'll see where they stand, how to improve and all of that yeah, I agree.
Rachel:I would also add lean into the to your creativity and what makes you you, because that personal expression and that authenticity is going to be what helps you really set yourself apart and start seeing results, especially in pageantry um, mine's would be just be curt, be courageous.
Catherine:And so the city said, and lorana said I think it's such an important thing to start, I think it's important to believe yourself, but you know, like Wayne Grusty said, you miss the shots you never take. And I think that's such an important thing in life. You're going to be afraid, and that's okay. Life is altering, changing all the time. I think change is a positive thing and I think we need to keep evolving and be better humans. And I think pageant, modeling or whatever you want to do in the world, I think that's where it starts by making the greatest move and making that change into it.
Lorena:I will also add that don't leave that thought in your head and just take that first step and don't be afraid of what's going to happen, because if something bad happens, you learn from it. Okay, I tried it, it was not for me, but if something good happens and it works, so don't leave the thought in your head, just do it, take that first step and you'll see what happened.
Catherine:Can I add on to that? My dad always says failure is not as big as you think, it's not just a mistake, it's a learning lesson. Yeah, because you learn from it, of course, yeah yeah, that's, that's the thing.
Rachel:It's like the worst they can say is no, oh, hey, I want. I have a business opportunity for xyz. Would you be interested in collaboration?
Lorena:what they say no, oh okay, move on, I'll find someone who does it's like you just gotta stop being afraid of the no, you'll find something better you realize it's really not a big deal.
Raeanna:Okay, on to the next yep, I will have regrets in life yes, yeah, getting comfortable in that, in being afraid and doing it anyway, getting comfortable with being told no and moving on and not taking it personally and attaching it to your own self-worth. Yeah, oh my, you guys. My cheeks hurt from smiling. This was so much fun. Thank you so much for joining me and for all of your just beautiful, deep insights about yourselves and what you've learned. And you are every single one of you so inspiring Like I'm sitting here, inspired, like ready to go tell my husband all about this conversation, so and listen back to it so that I can, like, pull out notes from, from the things that we talked about.
Lorena:Yeah, I want to yes.
Raeanna:Well, I think you should listen to it because, like you will hear then from the outside perspective, like just how amazing you guys are all together and your sisterhood, and how powerful that is. So, yeah, I definitely think you should. All right, I'm going to put all of your like tags, your Instagram handles and everything in the description so people can follow you and, you know, learn more about the Universal Petite organization, and I definitely encourage anyone to do that, because I think you guys are an amazing representative of everything that this organization stands for and everything that pageantry should be. So thank you all so much. Thank you, hazel, for making this happen. Appreciate you. All right, sash and Soul listeners, I will chat with you next week. Until then, be well Bye.
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