Gihara Rathnayaka

At just seventeen, Gihara Rathnayaka is already balancing a full course load with a growing career in modeling, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Full name Rathnayaka Mudiyanselage Shyni Gihara Manjalee Maheeshakya Rathnayaka, she comes from Bandarawela in the Uva Province, a part of the island known for its cool hill-country air and quiet, close-knit communities, and she carries that grounded upbringing into everything she does.

Gihara is currently working toward a Bachelor's degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management at NSBM Green University, having completed the university's Foundation Programme and her G.C.E. Ordinary Level examinations along the way. She has also completed a marketing qualification at the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing, giving her a working understanding of branding, communication, and business strategy that goes well beyond the classroom. It's an unusual pairing for someone so young, but it reflects how deliberately she's building toward a career that spans hospitality, marketing, fashion, and modeling all at once.

That head start is already paying off. Gihara won the Best Figure title at the YFM Kumara Kumariya pageant, an early result that only sharpened her focus. Since then she has kept refining her runway walk, her stage presence, and her public speaking, treating every appearance as practice for the international stage she hopes to reach one day representing Sri Lanka.

Her advocacy centers on empowering young women through education, self-confidence, and leadership, causes she doesn't just talk about but tries to live. Having stepped into pageantry earlier than most, she's especially conscious of the opportunity young women have to discover their potential and lead in their own communities when they're given the right encouragement.

For a first-timer, Gihara carries herself with a clarity that belies her age. "I was born to make an impact, not just an impression," she says. "My journey is driven by purpose, strengthened by resilience, and guided by the belief that true beauty inspires positive change." It's a fitting outlook for someone whose career is only just getting started.