A New Beginning

Welcome

I’m Leah Bunkers. Last Saturday in Muscatine, I was greatly humbled to earn the title Miss Pearl City 2014. The Miss Muscatine/Miss Pearl City Scholarship Program is a local preliminary for the Miss Iowa pageant, affiliated with the Miss America Organization. Thousands of scholarship dollars were awarded Saturday evening amongst several intelligent and beautiful young women. What an honor it is to have been selected to represent the Muscatine community as Miss Pearl City. I’d like to extend my gratitude to the sponsors and volunteers who make this opportunity available.

I intend to use this blog as a tool to keep you updated on all of the fun things I’m up to during my year of service.

I am currently a junior at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor, not to be confused with Baylor University! I’m 45 minutes south of Baylor. My school was the original Baylor Female College, but has seen name and location changes. Mary-Hardin Baylor was then the school for women, and Baylor College for men. There’s your history lesson for the day! I’m majoring in public relations with a minor in business administration. I am extremely blessed to have such a wonderful education experience here at UMHB.

I’ve been able to do lots of really cool things thus far in Belton. I was on the Sader Belles drill team for two semesters, I currently write for The Bells newspaper and I studied in Israel last summer to name a few. While I’m pretty far from home, I’m glad to have taken the leap out of my comfort zone. If you were to ask me why I am who I am, I would tell you because of the decision I made to go to college in Texas. Fun fact.

Okay, back to the pageant topic! It’s only been a few days since I was crowned, but I feel like so much has happened since! After the pageant, my family and I went out for pizza at Salvatore’s with the wonderful John Robinson and Wendy Robinson-Koch. On Sunday morning, the board and my mom and I went to Le Chic Prom and Pageant Boutique in Muscatine to begin the pursuit for my Miss Iowa evening gown. Thank you so much Heather and Stacy for your sponsorship. Le Chic has beautiful gowns, so if you’re in need of one, I would highly recommend them!

This week so far has been primarily working on logistics and getting organized. I’m about to start my training with the fantastic Ray Porter with Workout With Ray, the fitness sponsor for Miss Muscatine and Miss Pearl City. Thank you, Ray! I can’t wait.

I guess that’s where I’m at for now! If you’re interested, I started my first public relations internship today at the Belton Area Chamber of Commerce. Tomorrow, I begin my second with the Special Assistant to the President at UMHB. I’m very excited for the fresh semester and new opportunities to learn and grow as much as I possibly can, all the while making a positive impact on all who I meet.

Until later,

Leah