It has been much too long since I last posted a blog entry. Preparation for Miss Iowa is physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. Between mock interviews, two-time a day exercise sessions, hours reading the news, and almost daily appearances, I was doing everything I could to prepare myself for the pace and obligations of being Miss Iowa. I know without a doubt that I was ready to be Miss Iowa and was ready to continue my pace for the next year. Not surprisingly, being named the first runner-up to Miss Iowa for the second year in a row was extremely disappointing. While I certainly support the Miss Iowa Scholarship Program and the new Miss Iowa, Jessica Pray, I needed time to recover from the disappointment. After having a fairly free summer, I finally feel like I am ready to once again be the best Miss Pearl City I can be.
During my recovery time, I was blessed to have some amazing experiences. For two weeks in July, I was able to travel throughout Scotland with my parents. Truly, I have never seen a more beautiful country. The scenery is so varied throughout Scotland, but everything is stunning. We visited dozens of castles and abbeys and learned so much about Scotland’s amazing history (including the Davidson clan!). After hearing about the real Robert the Bruce and William Wallace, the first thing I did when I got home was watch Braveheart for the first time. While it was not at all historically accurate, it was still exciting to see it. I’m included some of our pictures.
Last Tuesday I took the GMAT exam in order to apply for human resource graduate programs. I was extremely happy with my results (in fact, my score is higher than the highest score in the incoming fall class at my top school choice!) and feel confident that between my test score, high GPA, and extracurricular activities, including Miss Pearl City, I will have no trouble getting into a top program. I hope to attend either the University of Minnesota, in Minneapolis, or Texas A&M, in College Station. Unfortunately, no program in Iowa offers a Masters of Art in Human Resources and Industrial Relations.
Classes for the fall semester started yesterday and I anticipate a very exciting semester. In addition to classes, I will be working with two different professors on their personal research projects. The first is with one of my favorite professors at Iowa studying a human resource topic that is extremely interesting to me: the effect of international business travel on family and life satisfaction. I will actually be with this professor all year and will end the year with an honors thesis. The second is with a political science professor looking at women in the Washington state legislature. As you can probably tell from my activities this past year as Miss Pearl City, I love politics and am very exciting to learn about the role of women in politics. Also this semester I will be kept busy as the Co-President of Associated Iowa Honors Students. Right now recruitment is taking the majority of my time! When recruitment is done, planning will immediately begin for the Masquerade Ball in early November. The Masquerade Ball is a campus-wide event that is basically like prom. It’s a blast and last year we had several hundred attendees and raised over $2000 for charity. As President this year, I fully intend to bring in more guests and raise more money than ever before.
I have several Miss Pearl City appearances scheduled over the next couple weeks, and I will be much better at keeping this blog updated. Until then.
Elizabeth
