By Ela Dutt
t was only when she
turned 12, did she build
up courage to tell her
best friend about the
domestic physical and
mental abuse, eventually
leading to a court case and then
to foster care as recently as 2013.
So it’s no surprise that Priya
Gopal-Walker sounds very
mature at 17. The daughter of an
Indian-American mother and a
Native American father who was
a Vietnam vet, Priya took hold of
her life early.
She began flying alone since
she was 5, from Seattle to
California once a month to visit
her dad who lived away from
her mother, on an Indian reser-
vation. She cooked her own
food, made her own schedules
early on. She is an example of
the resiliency of children. For
being brought up by a mother
with a volatile nature, Priya
sounds cool, calm and collected,
mouthing mature words and
ideas in a voice that still carries
a childish lilt during her inter-
view with Desi Talk.
The only time she sounds
confused is when asked if she
could explain why her mother
flew into rages or put her down,
at the same time as she
arranged for her to learn Indian
dance, Bollywood and Bharat
Natyam, and took her to Indian
events, much like other Indian-
American parents. “I believe she
has mental issues, but I don’t
know,” her voice trails off. “She
was like two different people.
On the one hand a woman who
would mother me, and on
another a person who could be
so incredibly violent. It left me
confused.”
Resilient
Today, Priya stands as an
epitome of success, victorious
over her trials and tribulations,
recently winning the Miss
Washington Teen pageant, and
waiting to step onto the bigger
stage in the Aug. 22 Miss Teen
USA competition to be held in
Atlantis Paradise Island hotel in
Nassau, Bahamas.
“Priya is extraordinary
because she did not let life’s
adversities stop her from fulfill-
ing her dream,” Maureen
Francisco, co-executive produc-
er of State Pageant Qualifier to
Miss USA and Miss Teen USA for
Idaho, Montana, Oregon and
Washington, told Desi Talk.
Francisco and colleagues have
checked out Priya’s credentials
thoroughly and while she could
not give out information due to
privacy rules, she indicated they
have legal documents relating to
the child abuse case.
SpeakingOut
As Priya tells it, her mother
lived in Hawaii when she met a
holidaying Vietnam vet and they
fell in love and married. They
then moved to the mainland
where Priya was born. She was
brought up by her mother in
Seattle while her Dad chose to
live on the reservation hundreds
of miles away. “But they still
loved each other. They had to
live separately, my father was a
Vietnam veteran and he needed
his own space,” she says.
“For a very long time my
mother was abusing me emo-
tionally and physically,” Priya
said. “She also told me if I ever
asked for help no one would
help.” Still a small child, Priya
believed her and didn’t tell any-
one, not even her father she says
because, “ I didn’t know how to
tell him, especially when he was
still so madly in love with her.
They talked all the time. It was a
long-distance relationship.”
It was in the Summer of
Grade 8 that Priya finally
opened up and told her best
friend Danielle about the abuse.
“She (Danielle) supported me
and helped me to figure out how
to ask for help,” Priya recalls. At
the beginning of 9th Grade, “I
found my voice.” Danielle told
her parents and suddenly help
was all around, her school coun-
selor, her advisor, her pageant
coach, everyone stepped up to
the plate. It wasn’t at all like her
mother had said. “After telling
about it I finally got out of that
situation and realized there
were so many people who cared
about me.”
Now, she says, she gets to
help other children who may be
going through a situation like
her own. “No matter how much
anyone tells you otherwise, you
have the support,” she asserts.
BraveAndQuirky
“Priya reclaimed something
that her mother had forced on
her: pageants, and used them to
speak out against domestic vio-
lence and encourage those who
don’t have a voice like she used
to,” her best friend Danielle said
preferring to respond by email
rather than an interview. She is
amazed by Priya’s accomplish-
ments, she says. “I think that
Priya is quite mature for her age
because she had to take care of
herself when she was younger,
as unfair as being in an abusive,
and at times, neglectful home, it
formed her into the strong per-
son she is now!” Beyond all
that, Danielle said, “She is just
such a loyal, compassionate,
quirky person and I’m so happy
to call her my best friend!”
After Priya’s case was heard
by a judge and the ruling came
in her favor, she moved around
from on foster home to another
until November 2013, when she
found the “awesome” foster par-
ents she loves. “They are such
incredible people and when I
decided to go for Miss
Washington Teen, they encour-
aged me.”
Even as the pageant looms,
Priya also feels the weight of get-
ting ready for senior year of high
school at the Seattle Academy of
Arts & Sciences, a private school
where she has been since Grade
6. She is also caught up in think-
ing about sending applications
for college. “I want to be in a big
city and a big school. I want to
work in both non-profit and the
business sectors,” she says.
“So many teens get discour-
aged. But with Priya, she knew
there’s a better way. She’s an
inspiration,” Francisco.
Still Indian
Priya is seemingly still in
touch with her extended Indian
family. None of them will be
able to come to the pageant she
said because they are attending
a wedding scheduled for the
same day as the pageant finals
Aug. 22.
Continued on page 28
News India Times
August 21, 2015
26
– that’s all you need to know
Arts & Entertainment
Finding Beauty Amid Ugliness: Miss Teen USA Contestant
I
Jerryand Lois Photography
CourtesyPriyaGopal-Walker
