Friday, April 24, 2009

Dawn Haines my freshman English professor Marylands Jr Miss 1980

My freshman year I was blessed to have Dawn Haines as my freshman English professor! I still remember the first day of class we watched the movie CRASH. She sure knew how to break the ice. I think half of the class was crying and it was all bonding and fun freshman times from there on. Ohhhh freshman year, how fun to remember my feelings during that year of my life.

Anyway during Dawn's office hours one day I told her I love to sing and compete for Miss NH and I found out she was Maryland's JR Miss in 1980 and won the talent competition at nationals. Her talent was and still is singing. She sings every chance she gets.

I have kept in contact with Dawn throughout college and had the opportunity to meet with her this week to perform my talent and ask for her advice.

There we were in room 203 in the Mub (memorial union building) at UNH and the second I opened my mouth I could feel the room change and right when I was done she jumped out of her seat cheering and gave me a big hug.

What a great moment. I won the audience over aka Dawn and the 18 chairs sitting in the room :) I was so thankful she was able to meet with me and give me some feedback on my performance.

She will be in the audience Thursday night to see my talent on the Miss NH stage at the Stockbridge Theatre.

McDonough Scholarship Foundation

Last night I was invited to the McDonough Annual Dinner. I was invited as the Scholar Speaker at the event. The McDonough Foundation provides scholarships to over 100 students each year to put towards their education who have worked at a golf course in New Hampshire for at least two years. Last year the foundation awarded over $100,000.

I was honored to be asked to speak at the dinner, I was in a room full of very accomplished sponsors and was able to speak about my experiences as a college student, my future goals, and my many thanks for their support.

After my speech I was able to perform my song for the sponsors to practice for Miss New Hampshire.

After the dinner I was approached by a man named Steve. During my speech I spoke about my platform and my visit to Share Our Strength's National Office. Steve was very interested about my trip he said he watches the Food Network every night and always notices promotional messages for Share Our Strength. One of SOS's partners is the Food Network. It was nice to know that Steve and others in the room knew about my platform and all of the great work that SOS does to end hunger in America.

Thank you to McDonough for my scholarship, my dad and I had a wonderful time at the event!

Embrace, Relax, Strong Three words of the day

Hello There,
It's FRIDAY.....Miss NH is just days away. What a beautiful day to be blessed with. I spent most of the day today reflecting. I had three goals today to live up to. I wanted to embrace the day and all of the people around me who have supported me and helped me through all the struggles of life. I wanted to relax to really veg out and think to myself. And lastly I wanted to be strong all day and love the body I am in.

I started the day off with class at 8:00 a.m. and then I went kayaking with July Tracy in Durham :) We launched off the dock at Old Landing and it was just breath taking. I learned what a PFD was ...personal floating device- just in case I toppled over into the great sea :)

We kayaked for about TWO hours= amazing!! It was a great time to talk about my plans for next year and to really spend time relaxing and reflecting. I am always able to talk with Julie about anything I need to. She is my campus minister at UNH. I felt like I was embracing nature, relaxing in my own skin, and growing stronger through each stroke of my paddle. In my preparations for Miss New Hampshire my arms have become strong, my legs, my core, but most importantly my mind. I have been able to grow as a strong woman full circle through this program - Mind, Body, and Soul. I am ready for anything ...Bring....It....On baby :)

After kayaking Julie dropped me off at yoga, it's only noon time and my day already feels complete I thought to myself.

Yoga is a one of the most relaxing activities I have ever been involved with. I have been practicing yoga for 5 years now. My high school biology teacher originally got me hooked, Mrs. Tara Mack. I did yoga with the teachers after school once a week my senior year and now I do yoga 2 times a week, not only to strengthen my body but to just BE. Yoga is a time to be in my body and not have to think about anything. I am able to clear my mind and really focus on my breath and connect with my body. Relax, Embrace, and be Strong.



Advice to you:
Compliment 3 people every day :)
Smile every chance you get
and take time to embrace, relax, and be strong