Alicia Rossman

Monday, April 6, 2009

Day 1-2 West Virginia Spring Break

The 1st day was mainly spent traveling! We started our journey at 5:00 am and left from the St. Thomas More Student Center with Julie Tracy, our Campus Minister leading the way. There were 11 of us total traveling to WV. We made about 5 stops at gas stations on the way. I bought a scratch ticket (or two) at every gas station. Don't worry, I don't think I have a problem...I won $8.00 total! I used that money for my breakfast the next day, you'll hear about that in the next post!

Anyway so we ended up finally making it to Nazareth Farm to sleep over and the next day we set out for Bethlehem Farm. While at Naz Farm we all cooked dinner together and shared a wonderful meal.

After our meal I started to read the book Nickel and Dimed it's about a woman who is a journalist who free willingly decides to live in poverty in three different states: Florida, Minnesota, and Maine. I ended up finishing the book by the time my spring break was over. It's the fastest I've ever read an entire book. It was a great read and it really helped put poverty in perspective.

Day 2:

We woke up and went to church at 9:00am. Shortly after we went to the Cottage Corner (a local breakfast place). I ended up getting two meals with Andrew and we split them so we could both have hot cakes, bacon, potato's and an egg-over easy! The hot cakes were the best hot cakes I've ever had in my entire life! I think you can see that I enjoyed it judging by my practically empty plate!

After breakfast Julie took us to her favorite hiking trail! We ended up hiking and had a lot of fun together. After our hike we went to Dairy Queen.......EWWW. So gross! I personally would rather eat McDonald's but this trip is all about sacrifice and accepting what life throws you. Life threw me DAIRY QUEEN....I smiled and enjoyed the burger that gave me a stomach ache :)

Then we were on our final stretch to Bethlehem Farm. We were all very excited to finally get there.

~Alicia

Alternative Spring Break West Virginia

I traveled to Summers County West Virginia with 25 other college students (9 from UNH) from across the country to Bethlehem Farm Inc. I was greeted by 7 care takers with loving hugs and welcoming faces. Bethlehem Farm is a Catholic Community in Appalachia that transforms lives through service with the local community and teaching sustainable practices. Their four cornerstones are service, prayer, simplicity, and community. I participated in all 4 cornerstones during my stay at the farm.
Service: I was able to help construct and build a deck and ramp for an elderly couple at their home. I was able to serve on home crew where my group (6 of us) stayed on the farm to prepare lunch and dinner for our friends who went to work that day. We served about 60 people dinner that night. We also cleaned the living space and did chores around the farm. I also helped plaster the walls at a homeless shelter in town.

Prayer: I was able to engage in prayer while on my trip. I had prayer time by myself and also with the group. Each day started with prayer and ended with prayer. I was able to say a prayer before two meals and was able to plan a group prayer with my team. I had a lot of time to reflect about life while I was on the farm and really think about my future and the now.

Simplicity:
No make up allowed. If it’s yellow let it mellow if it’s brown flush it down. No dish washer. TURN OFF THE LIGHTS. Only two showers allowed: one inside and one outside. Time doesn’t exist. No clocks, watches, or cell phones.
These were a few of the ways I learned to accept simplicity. The way of living at Bethlehem Farm was shocking at first but I learned to accept and embrace it. I had so much fun being simple. It was a treat and a break from my busy and stressful life.

Community:
Words can’t describe the community at the Farm. Everyone was so genuine and did such great work that I was proud of everyone there. It was a wonderful experience to join other college students and really learn more about myself and others. In America we take so much for granted when so many life with little to nothing. I was able to appreciate what I had and I was able to learn how to relax and embrace my life.

St. Vincent De Paul Food Pantry February 18, 2009

Hello Again,
Here I am with Herb Salls in the back on the right and the St. Vincent De Paul's Food Pantry volunteer crew. Also, you can see Kevin Joyce on the left, he was my Guidance Counselor when I was in high school.
I went to speak with Herb before their pantry hours and also stayed to help at the pantry. I was there conducting a needs assessment for one of my classes, Community Nutrition. I am studying under Dr. Joanne Burke. We all conducted a needs assessment in a New Hampshire town, and I was assigned Exeter New Hampshire. I found there to be a great need in the town of Exeter for those who are using the food pantry.
1) Food Pantry participants stay away from fresh vegetables
2) Not enough refrigerator/freezer space to store items
3) Not enough education on how to cook on a low income budget

I conducted the needs assessment and I am in the beginning stages of writing a "grant". This grant needs to be as realistic as possible and done in accordance to Dr. Burkes guidelines. I am learning a lot about food insecurity, poverty, and hunger in the town of Exeter and have been able to learn about my platform.

~Alicia

More Fishing with my Dad

Having fun fishing again with my dad! I can't wait for our first fishing trip after I graduate!

~Alicia

New England Fly Rodders Fishing Trip!

Hey There,

My dad and I love to fish. I think I still have my very first blue tackle box at home some where. My dad joined the NE Fly Rodders two years ago by himself and he had a lot of fun. I ended up joining last summer and just renewed my membership for this year because of all the fun I had last summer. I can't wait to graduate college and be able to fish whenever I want to with my dad! Check out some pictures from the day.

I'm trying to convince Chantel McCabe (Miss Deerfield Fair) and her Dad, John to join this summer. She didn't really go for the idea but I think her dad secretly wants to join.

http://www.neflyrodders.org/

The Big Rehearsal! April 5, 2009

Wow! What a talented group! I was very impressed with everyone's performance at our rehearsal on Sunday. All contestants and directors arrived at Pinkerton Academy at 8:30 am. Each contestant performed her talent in contestant order. We also practiced the dance numbers for Miss New Hampshire. The show is going to be absolutely amazing, Heidi and Heidi and our production crew works so hard to make a jaw dropping show every year.

Brenda Kathy and Cindy worked hard to get our scholarship submissions in order. I submitted for the community service award as well as the academic award.

Terri worked hard to make sure everyone had enough to eat, she had the great idea of making the rehearsal a pot luck all families and directors were able to chat over a great breakfast and lunch!

Katrina Rossi our Miss NH's Outstanding Teen was also very supportive of us and was at Pinkerton all day with us.

Bill gave a wonderful talk to everyone to practice our talents, hit the gym, and watch CNN every day so we can really impress the judges. I have been working very hard in all areas and can't wait for next weekend!

Next weekend is Media Day where we will have the opportunity to speak with reporters to promote our show and make Brenda happy with a SOLD OUT SHOW.

Go get your tickets!!!

Monday, March 30, 2009

My Song

My song was picked a bit late for no other reason than the fact that I wanted the perfect song for Miss NH this year. I was looking for a song that really spoke to who Alicia Rossman is for this year’s competition. I ended up hearing the song on the radio and at that very moment knew I had to sing it at Miss New Hampshire. The song is called I Was Here written and performed by Country's Hottest New Band LADY ANTEBELLUM! If you haven't heard them yet, you should absolutely buy their CD they are truly the hottest thing in country right now and have amazing songs. http://ladyantebellum.com/

The lead singer of the band actually wrote this song and sang it at her high school graduation and then later on she became famous and Lady Antebellum was asked to produce the song I Was Here for TEAM AMERICA'S Olympic theme song. They were also asked to be the theme song in the Breast Cancer Walk media commercials. Anyway...I knew I had to sing the song the moment I heard it because it goes like this: It's almost like I went to Nashville and sat down with a song writer. We sat down to chat over lunch about my life story and a week later the writer sent me the song he wrote for me! Cool story! It's not true but the song is really like my theme song that I could wake up to every day and jam to.

This song is the perfect song and I can't wait to sing it for the judges on Thursday night. Come see the show Thursday night to cheer for me during talent. The show starts at 7:00 on April 30th I will also be competing in On-Stage Question that night. Get your tickets at: http://www.missnh.org/

Lyrics: I Was Here
You will notice me
I'll be leavin' my mark,
like initials carved in an old oak tree you wait and see
maybe I'll write like Twain wrote
cure the common cold
I don't know but I'm ready to start cuz I know in my heart

I wanna do something that matters
say something different
something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better, with the time I’ve been given
and I wanna try and leave nothing less than something that says I was here

I will prove you wrong
if you think I’m all talk,
your in for a shock cuz this dreams too strong, and before too long
maybe I'll compose symphonies
cuz I know it's my destiny to leave more that a trace of myself in this place

I wanna do something that matters
say something different
something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better, with the time I’ve been given
And you’ll see that I, I’ll leave nothing less than something that says I was here

My Gown

I am so excited for Miss New Hampshire this year! Everything has fallen into place perfectly. The first thing that fell into place was my gown. It is beautifully made to fit my body in every way. AJ from Chantilly Place designed my gown for Miss NH and I was able to communicate to him what I wanted. I had such a great experience going to his shop in Lowell MA. He was so much fun to work with. Each time I went to his shop during my fittings I cried tears of joy because I was so happy with my gown.
Ok so I have to admit the first time I cried was the first time I was at his store and we both had this great idea for a gown but this was my first time making something from scratch so I ended up getting really emotional because I was #1 VERY NERVOUS and #2 VERY EXCITED (I think the nervous part was what made me cry)
Each time I went to him I fell in love with the dress even more. The final fit made me cry because I felt like a rock star! The dress is perfect. I even gave AJ goose bumps because he was so happy for me.
I think you will find my gown is elegant and sexy all in one! I can't wait for the evening gown music to come on on Friday night!

Check out www.missnh.org to purchase tickets for Friday night if you would like to come and see my amazing gown. I will be competing in Lifestyle and Fitness as well as Evening Gown on Friday. The show starts at 7:00 I hope to see you there!
~Alicia

Check out the website! + Preparations for Miss NH

Hey there blog followers!
Check out the new Miss Lakes Region website: http://www.misslakesregion.com/! Wayne (my director) has been working hard to get the website up and running.