Berkeley Heights Native, Miss NJ To Compete For Miss USA

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ — Berkeley Heights native and Governor Livingston graduate Jabili Kandula, who was crowned Miss New Jersey USA 2024 on June 23, will now be competing for Miss USA 2024.

She is among 51 girls who will be heading to Los Angeles to compete for the title of Miss USA on Aug. 4 at the Peacock Theater, which will be televised live on The CW Network.

Kandula is a private pilot and an aviation journalist for Aviation for Women magazine at Women in Aviation International. She has a B.A. in journalism and media studies from Rutgers University—New Brunswick. She received her private pilot certificate from American Flyers flight school in Morristown in 2020.

She is currently working on her instrument rating and commercial pilot license at Air Fleet Training. She is a M.S. candidate at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, studying Aeronautics with a specialization in Space Operations.

Kandula said she is planning to use the Miss New Jersey USA title to expand her work with Women in Aviation International, the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to empowering more women to enter aviation and aerospace.

Within the aviation industry, less than 7 percent of pilots are female, and less than 1 percent are women of color.

Kandula said she is using her voice to promote higher education and career explorations for young girls to succeed in all facets of aviation and aerospace.

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