Teen Competes In Pageant Ahead Of Military Stint

Photos by Yann Toledano
Inpreet Rattu, left, was named the Community Queen Miss and the Miss Congeniality Miss Division at the 2018 Miss Long Island and Miss Long Island Teen pageant ceremony on Aug. 6. She was also the third runner up as 2018 Miss Long Island.

By Janee Law
jlaw@longislandergroup.com

Inpreet Rattu was 13 years old when she competed in her first pageant, the Miss Long Island Teen portion of the Miss Long Island and Miss Long Island Teen pageant.

“At the time, I was looking for a pageant for my younger sister to compete in. I was online doing research and most of the pageants for toddlers, at the time, were down south,” Rattu, of Huntington Station, said. “Then, I came across the Miss Long Island and the Miss Long Island Teen pageant and I decided to put in an application for myself.”

During the competition, Rattu earned the Best Newcomer award.

Now 19, a 2016 Walt Whitman High School grad with plans to enter the U.S. Military, Rattu recently entered the world of pageantry once again. On Aug. 6, she finished third runner up in the 2018 Miss Long Island portion of the pageant. She also earned a pair of titles, “Community Queen Miss” and “Miss Congeniality Miss Division.”

“I couldn’t believe I got third runner up. It was an honor to be on the stage in the first place,” Rattu said. “Every woman that was competing deserves to get some sort of award and I was beyond stoked that I was one of them.”

Rattu, who is set to enter her sophomore year at Suffolk County Community College, where she studies criminal justice, said this may have been her final foray into the world of pageantry.

Also enrolled the U.S. Army ROTC program through Hofstra University, after graduation, Rattu will be commissioned into the army as an officer. She hopes to serve for military police or military intelligence.

“I’ve always been very fond of helping people. That’s a passion of mine,” Rattu said. “I’ve done hundreds of community service hours and so I started to consider my options with the military and met with recruiters.”

When she’s competed in pageants, Rattu has advocated military-focused organizations like Islip-based nonprofit Project 9 Line, which works to empower veterans to reintegrate in society through the arts.

“I just felt that it would be good to give back to those who gave so much to our country,” Rattu said. “As someone who wants to be in the military, it would be in my best interest to take care of those people who take care of us because one day I’ll be in their shoes.”

Rattu has volunteered with several organizations, including the Nassau County Police Department’s explorers program and the Birchwood Assisted Living Community. She was also a public speaker against bullying at Walt Whitman High School.

Rattu added, “It’s important to give back to the community because our community is basically like our family and we have to be able to connect in order to have a better future.”