Miss Iowa Orientation day!

Happy Monday,

This past Saturday was orientation for Miss Iowa! It was the first time that all of the contestants were together in the same place at the same time. We learned about what our week is going to look like and went to break-out sessions to finalize paperwork, time talent, approve swimsuit and have a mock interview. I had a really great time meeting some of the girls that I didn’t know already! It’s going to be a busy, fun, crazy week!

Miss Iowa is just around the corner. The next several weeks will be super hectic, but I wouldn’t want it any other way! I’m going to attach some photos from orientation!

Have a great week,

Leah

 

Miss Iowa class of 2014

 

With Serica, Miss Muscatine and Nina, Miss Muscatine's Outstanding Teen at orientation!

Some awards, random things and pictures (cause everyone likes pictures)

Greetings!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter. I got to go stay at a timeshare in Oklahoma with my family! It was the relaxing weekend that I needed. We went golfing, fishing and horseback riding. Now I’m back at school for a few more weeks to finish up the semester! This is the college student’s favorite time of the year. Finals, projects, papers! Haha, just kidding. ;) This spring semester has literally flown right by before my eyes. I feel like I’ve been all over the place! I don’t think I would trade this on-the-go lifestyle though. . . The constant change of pace keeps everything fresh and exciting.

The weekend before last the newspaper and yearbook staff went to San Antonio for the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association conference and competition. It was my first time attending; it was really neat! Students from colleges across Texas competed against each other in a variety of media-related competitions. I was in TV advertising and PR Crisis Communication. Not going to lie, I was a little nervous at first as the opening words at the competition went something a little like this, “I know you all have been preparing for this all year.” Hahaha. I just did my best with the knowledge I had! I ended up getting 3^rd place in PR Crisis Management. I was surprised and excited. I love how you can carefully use words to diffuse a situation. This really reaffirms my career path which is settling. Our school newspaper won the “Sweepstakes” award for our division, meaning we collectively had the most points from awards different stories and photos received.

We got back to Belton just in time for the Spring Formal! I’ll attach a few pictures at the bottom so you can see how good-looking of a date I landed.

Tomorrow I have my last meeting of the semester with my mentor, and I graduate from the Apprentice Belton program on Thursday. I’m so thankful for this opportunity that the Belton Chamber has given UMHB students. It’s incredible to be able to ask questions and get advice from a public relations professional.

On Friday I’m heading home for Miss Iowa Orientation on Saturday! I am so excited to get to know all of the girls who will be going through the Miss Iowa process this year. I can’t wait to get this semester over with and get back for my final weeks before I leave for Davenport!

Below are some pictures from my last couple of weeks!

Until later,

Leah

 

 

The ladies at our classy Chili's, pre-formal dinner

 

Outside of Tenroc Ranch in Salado.



 

Thumbs up?

 

 

The newspaper group in front of the Alamo.

 

 

My award from TIPA!

 

Seth and I with Raven and King.

 

Just road trippin' on a long weekend.

 

Internships and good opportunities

Happy April!

 

Wow, this year is flying by. Just wanted to fill you all in on what I’ve been up to lately!

The morning after I got back to school from spring break, I flew out to Orlando for my weeklong internship with Z Option. Z Option is a SAP software partner company that provides tools and solutions that integrate into the SAP system to make it more user friendly. If you have no clue what I’m talking about, SAP is an accounting software that businesses use to upload financial data. Some of Z Option’s customers, that I had the opportunity to meet representatives from, are Nike, John Deere, Kraft Foods and Genentech.

I’m not even sure if I can describe this crazy and amazing experience. On Tuesday morning, I found myself in a huge exhibit hall surrounded by businessmen in suits. The first thought that came to my mind was, “where are the women?” I am so confident that I’ve chosen the right issue to promote through my platform. But for some odd reason, despite my age and gender, I felt like I belonged there.

To sum up the week, the three other interns and I worked on the sales and marketing team, ultimately doing public relations. We met with current and potential customers and built positive relationships with them. Thankfully we had a day-long training day so that we were able to answer general questions about the company and its tools. The trade show went on from 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., and then after that, we went to dinner with customers of the company. They were LONG days, but I learned more in that week about business than I could learn in any class.

Don’t worry, the interns got to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios when the week culminated! It was a little difficult missing a week of classes, but I’m so thankful to have been selected for this opportunity. I’m actually in the process of writing an article about this for the newspaper, so I’ll be sure to post a link once it gets online!

I’ve been playing catch up this week! Last night I was able to take some time to meet with my mentor, Kyle DeBeer, who is the public relations coordinator for the Belton school district. It’s always great to pick his brain. Today, I attended the Women in Business Forum featuring speaker Madge Meyer. I’d like to talk about some of the things I learned in the near future. Tonight, I’ll be heading to Salado for the American Business Women Association’s local chapter meeting. Can’t wait to spend time with successful and philanthropic businesswomen in Central Texas.

Tomorrow I'm heading back to Iowa for a weekend of shopping and prep with my fabulous Executive Director, Ashley! I'm so excited to be back on Iowa soil.

I’ll post next week to share what I’m learning and experiencing!
 

Below are some photos from my internship!

At Disney!

 

The interns with Trish and Shari on our last day of work



 

Riding the boat to Disneyworld!