Mikaj Karki: True Blue ambassador — and Mr. Nepal finalist

As Instagram pages go, UB first-year student Mikaj Karki’s has a certain distinction.

There’s a reel of him getting socked in the face with snow in the mandatory Buffalo winter action shot. Others display a budding spirit that embodies what UB organizers say it means to be an all-world, UB True Blue ambassador.

“Passionate, Hard-working, Trustworthy, Kind,” Karki wrote about himself in one reel.

But there’s more. The most conspicuous is a picture of Karki wearing a stole with the message: “Mr. Nepal 2023, Best Skin.” He’s very proud of being chosen for this category. And he’s even prouder of the line on his resume that states he placed sixth overall among 800 participants in the April 2023 Mr. Nepal National Beauty Pageant.

“My main goal in Mr. Nepal was to represent my country to the world,” says Karki, 19, a native of Kathmandu, Nepal, who came to the university last fall because of its strong computer science program and the appeal of the state’s diversity in geography and people.

“It was really nerve-wracking for me because I was one of the youngest contestants there,” Karki says of his days in the Mr. Nepal contest. “I was actually competing against people who were a lot older than me.

“So I felt like I had too little experience compared to them. So I was kind of insecure about it, but I am really glad I made it to the Top 10 because everyone was rooting for me to at least make it to the Top Five.

“I didn’t win the whole title itself, but I placed in the top 10, which was a great achievement for me.”

UB administrators value Karki for his UB spirit. He has embraced his role as a True Blue ambassador with an enthusiasm and sincerity that would make Victor E. Bull proud. Karki just is a lot better looking.

“As an ambassador, Mikaj has really embraced what it means to be True Blue — always ready for a challenge and eager to try something new,” says Erin Goetz, director of social media in University Communications, which manages the True Blue initiative.

“His excitement and pride for UB comes through in the content he creates. We’re looking forward to seeing and sharing more from him, as well as our other student ambassadors, this spring,” Goetz says. “They each have fantastic stories to tell.”

As for his Mr. Nepal experience, Karki doesn’t flinch at the skeptics. In an age and culture that condemns any preconceived or formulaic ideas of beauty; when the Barbie movie cloaks itself in all-embracing acceptance; in a university environment where the notion of fashion means toughening through the elements, Karki confidently answers those questioning the current value of any kind of beauty pageant.

“People usually associate beauty and pageantry with females,” says Karki. “I personally don’t believe that because men deserve to be out there and show themselves and show their beauty as well.

“So, for someone who will tell me don’t do it or is criticizing me about it, I will just feel like this is something people have to know about. People need to know that men also deserve to show their sense of fashion or sense of beauty to the world.

“I would like to create an awareness for people.”

As he begins his second semester as a computer science major, Karki intends to keep that Instagram page fresh and current. It’s important for a number of reasons, he says, noting he is usually reserved and quiet when he meets someone in school, at a party or wherever.

“I don’t want to say a lot about myself first,” he says. “I usually have other people say their feelings first. Then I can be myself. So when I am meeting them for the first time, I usually just share my Instagram with them, and we can connect over that in the future.

“That would be a way to say, ‘Hey, this is me, so if you want to talk to me, text me.’”

As for any future Mr. Nepal plans, Karki says he will return to the contest but wants to be patient. He sees himself integrating his computer science expertise with other interests, such as business and fashion. One “wild idea”: Design a program to suggest what a person should wear based on the weather, that person’s agenda and personal tastes.

He would then return to the Mr. Nepal competition with that extra experience and those accomplishments behind him.

“It’s important to join the competition again,” he says. “I want to win the title itself. The competition is held every year in Nepal, and the winner gets to go to the Mr. Global (contest).

“Maybe I can enter again in 2029 or 2030, when I have something of my own to show so that even when I am the winner, people will be able to see me as someone who comes from a background who has built himself to where he is right now.

“Yes, I want to wait until I have something before I win the title.”