“I want to travel the state of Georgia, represent the organization, and show that you can do it all. You don’t have to be one thing or the other. I worked hard in school and I became valedictorian. But I also worked hard at pageants and became Miss Georgia Teen USA. You can do both. For a long time, I didn’t think you could. I think a lot of younger girls don’t necessarily think they can, either. So that would be really important to me,” says Kiran Reddy, reigning Miss Georgia Teen USA and the valedictorian of the Coffee High School Class of 2026.
Kiran won her crown on June 30. Her next stop? Miss Teen USA later this summer.
Kiran has competed in the Miss Georgia Teen USA pageant the last two years, finishing 1st and 2nd runner-up. She has also won the Miss Georgia South Teen USA, a preliminary pageant in the Miss Teen USA system.
This year, however, there was no traditional qualifying pageant to get to the Miss Georgia Teen USA stage. In fact, there really wasn’t a stage at all. Due to some changes at the national level, 16 states, Georgia being one of them, didn’t have traditional pageants. Eight of those states hosted an open casting call, which began in early June. The other eight states are beginning their open casting call rounds now.
The process was all electronic with the first three rounds consisting of public voting. Contestants who made it to the final round then submitted a 90 second video. The judges, all past Miss USA queens, selected the winners. “You started off submitting a picture and a little bit about yourself. Then there were the three rounds of voting. Each round eliminated a few people. If you made it to the final round, you had to submit a video,” she says. “I was lucky enough to get chosen to hold the title of Miss Georgia Teen USA from that process.”
The next step is Miss Teen Universe, which will be held in Miami at the end of August. In Miami, Kiran will be judged in evening gown, interview, active wear, and, new for 2026, a category called marketability. Nobody is really sure exactly what marketability is; Kiran is prepping for that stage of the competition by working on her speaking skills, getting comfortable in front of a camera, and preparing to be the face of the Miss Teen USA organization. “We will have to make a mock commercial. They will also take a look at your social media platforms. I think they just want to make sure that you can be comfortable in front of an audience and represent the organization well,” she says.
Another important component of the pageant is being present. Queens need to represent Miss Teen USA and their communities. They need to be out and about, setting a positive example, being a role model, and making a difference. “Some organizations are very platform-heavy. You choose a certain platform and perform specific service work for that platform. The USA system is a little different. They want to see that you’re present in your community and you’re representing your state. I try to serve the community in a number of different ways. I’ve done community service projects with people from ages four to 80. I want to be really well rounded in that aspect,” she says.
Kiran’s schedule of appearances and projects as Miss Georgia Teen USA are still in the works; at the time of this interview, she was just three days removed from winning her crown. And with the national pageant just a few weeks away, much of her time right now is spent preparing for it. “I’m working every day for the national pageant. But I’ve done a lot of community service projects in the past and I plan to be on the road and stay busy,” she says.
The bulk of her work will be done after the national pageant. Regardless of the outcome, she will still be Miss Georgia Teen USA and will have a full slate of activities until the next state pageant. If, of course, she wins Miss Teen USA, that will catapult her to the global stage at Miss Teen Universe.
At the moment, though, she isn’t worried about that. “My main focus is competing against the other 49 girls from every state. I’m just trying to focus on that,” she says.
And if that isn’t enough, Kiran also has college to think about. She will attend the University of Georgia in the fall where she will major in biological sciences on a pre-med track. She plans to pursue a career in women’s health or the OB-GYN field. “I’m not sure which one yet. But those two fields are what I’m passionate about,” she says.
The Miss Teen USA Pageant will take place on August 26 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami. This year will be the 75th Miss Teen USA pageant. It will be televised on the CW network.
