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Standing 5 feet, 3 inches tall, Jyoti Mahajan never believed that she could be a model.

Raised in Mumbai, India by parents who emphasized career and education, she never got to indulge her desire to be a model or actress.

However, for six weeks she competed with other Indian women in Gladrags Mrs. India 2010, a beauty pageant and reality show for married women.

After a successful try at a Mrs. India contest in Washington, D.C., her husband encouraged her to seek other opportunities.

"I'm not working now," Mahajan, 32, said. "He said ‘why don't you fulfill your dream?'"

She lacked a portfolio of modeling pictures to submit to the Gladrags Mrs. India 2010 contest, and decided to send in a variety of casual pictures, without much expectation of being selected to participate.

"My pictures are totally random," she said.

However, she was selected for the contest, and flew to Mumbai in late October.

There, she and other contestants were coached in modeling, runway walking, and got to meet Bollywood — the Indian film industry, and a play on "Hollywood" — stars.

About 3,200 women entered the contest, and Mahajan made it into the top 20, but was eliminated in the fifth round of the contest, taking 13th place.

Mahajan moved to the Urbana Highlands in 2002, and has been a stay-at-home mom for the past four years. She discovered that she was diabetic when she was 28 — a frightening event that she said has made her a stronger person. Mahajan thought that she would be unable to conceive children because of her disease, but now has a 4-year-old and 2-year-old.

She took a 90-day supply of her medication with her to India, as she needs it to manage her type-I diabetes.

"If I don't take it today, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow," she said.

She said the experience of participating in the Mrs. India contest was rewarding, and she plans to participate in the Mrs. India America contest this year.

Oakdale Pink Warriors band together to fight breast cancer

Four women who have children in the Oakdale High School feeder system banded together recently to form the Oakdale Pink Warriors, who will compete in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60-mile walk to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation.

Stacie Lemick, one of the group's founders, said that they formed it because of breast cancer's impact on their lives. Group member Michelle Case lost a sister-in-law to the disease, and Beth Case is a breast cancer survivor, Lemick said.

"We've all been touched in some shape or form by the disease," Lemick said.

The group will be holding fundraisers in the Frederick area, the first of which will be held at the Greene Turtle on Citizens Way in Frederick from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday. The restaurant will donate 10 percent of its sales to the team, and the Pink Warriors will host a 50/50 raffle as well.

Each member has to raise a minimum of $2,300 by race time in October

The group's second event, "Bunco for Boobs" is scheduled 1:30-4 p.m. March 13, will feature the dice game, Bunco, as well as prizes, snacks and a raffle or silent auction. 

For more information, contact the Oakdale Pink Warriors at oakdalespinkwarriors@comcast.net.

Urbana grad completes

military basic training

Air Force Airman 1st Class Richard Ramirez of Ijamsville recently graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Ramirez completed an eight-week training program that stressed military discipline and studies, core values of the Air Force, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.

Ramirez also earned four credits toward an associate degree from the Community College of the Air Force.

Ramirez graduated in 2000 from Urbana High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Salisbury University in 2006.

Local residents named

to dean's lists

- Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., named Casey Breslin of Frederick to its dean's list for the fall 2009 semester. Breslin is a history major and a member of class of 2011 at Saint Anselm College.

- Anita Lake of Ijamsville was named to the fall 2009 dean's list at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, Pa. dean's list for the fall 2009 semester.

Lake is a senior majoring in communications with an emphasis in public relations, and graduated from Urbana High School in 2006. She is the daughter of Michael and Suanne Lake.

- Carl Thacker of Ijamsville as named to the dean's list at Franklin & Marshal College in Lancaster, Pa.

Do you have an item for News & Notes? Contact reporter Christian Brown at 301-846-2132, e-mail chbrown@gazette.net or fax news to 301-846-2124.