To the Miss Iowa Class of 2018, I say "Don't Compete"...

Let's talk about the difference between 'competing' in pageantry and 'empowering' through pageantry. 100% you should participate in pageantry, it's a life changing experience. But I was told that the amazing bonds formed between our Miss Iowa Class of 2017 was a very rare occurrence at the state level of pageantry. I decided to probe a bit on why that is. And I found that if you're focused solely on competing with other women you'll not get as much from the experience; if you empower each other you will gain best friends and heart-warming experiences no matter the outcome of your pageant. 

        I absolutely love being in the Miss America system. Showcasing intelligent women who have brains, beauty, and talents is so amazing! Our system is something to be proud of, something to share and celebrate with others. But rarely did I ever feel that I was competitive with other women during Miss Iowa Week. I felt excited to learn everyone's stories and experiences. We encouraged each other to continue our service and improve on our talents. Sure, standing back stage in a bikini next to, who I consider to be the 15 most attractive women in the state, is a bit nerve wracking. But even then we have to be cheering each other on from the sidelines until it's our turn! This is what empowering is. The dictionary definition of 'empower' is make (someone) stronger and more confident, especially in controlling their life and claiming their rights.

As pageant women, and women in general, we have to focus on building each other up every step of the way. Doing your best and encouraging others in pageantry and in life is the way to be a leader and a good friend. So whether it's your first time in a pageant or your age-out year- Empower and love one another 

Sunshine Boxes!

IT FINALLY HAPPENED!! After months of planning, fundraising, and baking, I was able to deliver Sunshine Boxes to The Rose of East Des Moines on June 14th!!!

A little background on Sunshine Boxes:
Love for the Elderly (my platform and an amazing non-profit) aims to bring love, kindness, and generosity to all elderly individuals across America. Our two main programs are Sunshine Boxes and Letters of Love. To help with the Letters of Love program I go to schools, after school groups, and youth activities to speak to children about the importance of respecting and caring for people of all ages. We then write notes to the elderly to brighten their day! Can you imagine getting a letter of compassion from a stranger letting you know that there's someone out there who cares for you!? That is what we do for seniors across our nation. It is an amazing way to bring the young and elder people of our nation together.

The second program, and my passion project, is Sunshine Boxes! Our boxes (or bags, in this case) are care packages to an ENTIRE senior facility! Our bags were party/fiesta themed and included maracca pens, bandanas, colorful note pads, a note of love, and my homemade cookies! It costs $300 to do one round of Sunshine boxes, and  I raised all the money through bake sales this year! It has been hard work but has been so worth it <3 one of my favorite parts of the Sunshine Boxes was the bags that the goodies were delivered in! Each one had a unique saying. We chose these bags because even though some residents may have dementia or Alzheimer's (like my grandmother did) and wont remember we were there, they will have a constant tangible reminder that they are loved and are truly amazing and inspiring

The residents I was able to speak with were absolutely thrilled that someone cared enough to do this for them and it was a great culmination of months of preparation. I am so thankful I have this opportunity to be a Kindness Ambassador for Love for the Elderly. I can hardly wait for our next round of sunshine boxes, there's no stopping me!

Minnesota (bonus dog photos)

I started out my journey to Minnesota with an action packed weekend of volunteering and tours! I visited Minnesota as a part of my goal to visit an elder care facility in every state surrounding Iowa before the Miss Iowa pageant. First stop at 8am on Sunday was the Gillette's Children's Specialty Care Hospital.

My favorite part of my tour to the CMN hospital was going behind the scenes! I got to see every facet of the hospital and all the amazing thing this hospital does for these children in one place so that children and their families don't have to be shuffled around.

Below are some photos of their fabrication room where they make prothetics, braces, and wheelchairs in house for their patients in need.

It was amazing to talk to the makers of the wheelchairs. They can cost as little as $3000 for a basic model or up to $60,000 for a model that may stand or have electric capabilities. They explained that though the cost is steep, independence for these wheelchair bound children that the wheelchairs can provide is priceless. It was amazing to hear them speak about the pride they feel when they come across someone they've helped during everyday life and see the huge impact these chairs have on children.

The next location for tours was the Walker Methodist Health Center. It was amazing to talk with their programs coordinator to discuss their amazing Music and Memory program that they run. This program uses each resident's favorite music to stimulate memories and improve quality of life for these residents. It was also amazing to learn about their state of the art Delirium Care Facility. While dementia is a slow progressive disease, dilirium (persistent confusion, restlessness) can be brought on by overmedication, dehydration, and other short term medical complications. The Delirium Care Facility seeks to fix these short term medical issues to get these resident's healthy and back home to lovedones instead of in long term care facilities.

Visiting Minnesota was truly a life changing experience for me. The state of the art children's and Elderly facilities that exist in Minnesota are unlike any comprehensive care I've seen before. The amazing passion these caregivers had for their patients was unparallelled. It truly reaffirmed my commitment to the elderly and healthcare in general. I'm so excited to start on my masters degree in Health Care Administration in January!

And here are some bonus pictures of myself and dogs from the Pearl City Barbeque benefitting Muscatine Senior Resources (and a picture of a cool car!)

4 Points: Scholarship

This is the first of 4 blog posts I am doing about the 4 points of the  crown! I was lucky enough to snap this beautiful shot on the Iowa State University campus today and was thrilled about how it turned out. I absolutely love living in a state where we get to experience and enjoy all of the seasons. The first amazing day of the year on this beautiful campus reminded me of one of the great points of the crown: Scholarship! Here's why it's so important to me.

I decided on Iowa State University because of the beautiful campus, abundance of clubs and teams (800+!!) and the great major programs they offer. It was also closest to my family home in Des Moines and I earned the President's Scholarship for academic excellence.

My best friend and I picked a dorm room, packed up a futon and a few plates, and moved in! Little did we know how hard those first few months would be. Parents say the transition period is hard, but how right they are! Trying to make new friends, all the homework, and being away from home for months at a time is not an easy task. It did not make it easy to focus on learning or planning for my future. When my roommate dropped out of school during a tear-filled first semester I was left all alone in a still-cramped, depressing, dimly lit dorm room. The only solution was to get more involved in clubs on campus and dedicate myself to my studies.

IT WORKED! I learned that for me it is so much easier to be dedicated to scholarship when you're doing something you love. I joined the competitive ballroom dance team (treasurer), Red Shoe Club (treasurer), DIY Craft Club (treasurer), Kappa Alpha Theta (Homecoming Community Service Chair), and the Society for Human Resource Management. I also chose a major- Business Management and decided to pursue a master's degree in Healthcare Administration. This plan made it easier and easier to dedicate myself to my studies. By 2015 I had made the Dean's list and was thriving here at Iowa State. It was very difficult for me to continue school after my organ removal surgery but I was too determined! I absolutely love learning and applying my skills. I'm thrilled that my dedication paid off and I will be graduating early in December and starting Grad school early in January!
Scholarship is easy, once you make a plan!

Illinois

Today after an amazing time at Le Chic I went to visit nursing homes in Illinois! From the beginning it was very important to me to make sure I was helping the elderly not only in my immediate community but all over the Midwest. An estimated 14.2% of the Illinois population is over the age of 65 years old according to the latest Illinois census. 

I was thrilled to be invited to the Aledo Rehabilitation and Health Care center. Their friendly staff took me on a tour of the facility and I got to meet some of their lovely residents in both the general care and memory care units. 

Surprisingly only 50 of the 85 rooms are filled at this facility that serves rural Illinois. Though it is a small facility I could tell that the aids truly cared for these patients and made it their life's work to get to know their patients and make them as comfortable and at home as possible. This facility is unique because they have extra activity aids every single day in addition to nurses and CNAs. I think this is a great setup because these activity aids are there solely to provide companionship with the residents. These amazing residents wished me 'good luck' at Miss Iowa, and they were so sweet! One of the lovely residents talked to me about how she had won a pageant in her day too. Aledo even has an aquarium for their residents with a labeled wall with all the types of fish on it!  I loved seeing the great activities and atmosphere they provide for their residents. It was great meeting the wonderful people of Aledo and I had a great time in Illinois. I'm also excited to be one step closer to my goal of visiting senior homes in each state surrounding Iowa in addition to my everyday activities with the elderly in Iowa.

Here's bonus pictures of myself with one of my favorite aids at Aledo, and one of me at Le Chic picking up my wonderful evening gown for the Miss Iowa pageant!

This Year, No Excuses

Often we all find ourselves sleepy in the morning, longing to hit that snooze button just one more time instead of getting up to go to the gym. We find ourselves picking up some fast food after work instead of cooking a healthy meal at home. These excuses are very familiar to me too as someone who works, goes to school full time, volunteers, and does a lot on campus. I sometimes want to nap for hours instead of studying for a big test coming up. But today, this ENDS. Today, 3/1/2017 is the first day of Lent. I am not catholic. But having gone to a catholic high school I gained insight into the importance of self deprivation in spirituality. So today I am giving up EXCUSES for Lent. For the next 40 days I am holding myself accountable. This means no lame excuses. No short changing myself. No fear, limits, or excuses.

Love for the Elderly and CAKE

I can't believe it's almost the end of February already! I hope you had a great Valentine's Day! I am excited to announce that I am a Kindness Ambassador for Love for the Elderly! Love for the Elderly is a non-profit organization that focuses on bringing love, joy, and kindness into the lives of elderly citizens across the country. The two programs I am bringing to Iowa are ‘Letters of Love’ and ‘Sunshine Boxes’.

My Grandparents had their 70th birthday party this weekend! My Grandpa is recovering from his cancer treatments and it is so great to see him out and about. My family, those who have passed and those still with us, are a huge part of why I am so passionate about being a Kindness Ambassador for Love for the Elderly. Stay tuned next month for how you can get involved too!

Another amazing experience this month was to help young ladies get ready for their Princess and Papa's Dance! It was amazing working with my sister-queens to help young women feel their most beautiful. Here's some pictures!

It was so fun to spend the first part of the month in Muscatine for the annual Cake Auction. Miss Muscatine, Miss Muscatine's Outstanding Teen, and I sold raffle tickets for the boosters group and enjoyed talking to the children in the Muscatine school system. Did I mention the cake and ice cream was amazing? :D

My Busy Life: Dedicated to Service

It's been a busy few weeks! I have been dedicating my time to working with the elderly, CMN hospitals and families, Miss Iowa prep, and volunteering,

I spend my time working as an in home healthcare aid for the elderly. It is a job that isn't common for a college student, but it's my passion! This week I had a particularly touching experience with one of my patients that illustrates the importance of spending time with the elderly. I visited a couple that has around 40 great grand children spread over the U.S. and Africa as missionaries. The couple spent the majority of their lives building structures in Africa, which has now unfortunately been destroyed by ISIS.  This incredible couple's favorite thing is to spend time with people. The husband described his experience in World War II and the treatment of veterans. The wife and I played Rummikub for 3 hours, giggling with joy. I learned so much from this couple in the short 5 hours that I had with them. It is a true blessing to have the time with the elderly that we do; I encourage you all to take the initiative to meet someone new today!

Miss Iowa prep has been great so far! The annual shopping trip to Chicago was a major success! In addition to getting a lot of wardrobe I also had a lesson in hair and makeup! I also made my final pick for my talent and talent song! This trip was an invaluable experience. I've also been doing an 8 week workout program from my sponsor 8one8 fitness! Fitness videos to come soon, I promise. I love lifting weights and eating a healthy diet to fuel my body.

At Iowa State University I am dedicating my time to the Ronald McDonald House. I am an executive board member for the Red Shoe Club benefiting many CMN hospitals. 

I am a firm believer that when you see a need in your community, any need, you should get involved where you can! I spent my weekend volunteering with the Animal Rescue League of Iowa making caramel apples for their fundraiser. It was a great experience where I got to share my passion for service with the other members. (my cat Prince approves!!!)

Jumping Right In!

January 7th was a day that could change my life forever, and it sure did! The Miss Muscatine/Miss Pearl City scholarship pageant was my first Miss Pageant in the Miss America Organization. I'm still reeling from not only the win of the Miss Pearl City Title, but especially the Community Service Award for my platform "Visiting Grandma". Celebrating that night was only the beginning of this amazing journey!

This is my favorite photo of my mother and I from just after I was crowned. My platform was originally based on my grandmother, and my mom is so proud! This woman who has supported me throughout all my efforts finally saw all my hard work pay off and we couldn't be happier as a family of strong independent women!

I am so blessed to have so many friends who supported me from the start, encouraging me to achieve my dreams!

The next day after crowning, it was GO TIME!! I started my volunteering off with Meals From the Heartland, a charity organization I have been volunteering with for 6 years. I was lucky enough to run into U.S. Congressman David Young and while volunteering with him we had amazing conversations about protecting healthcare and social security for the elderly (along with some football talk!)

I started my fitness program with my amazing sponsor 8one8 fitness and can't wait to show you my progress after 6 weeks! Living a healthy lifestyle has always been so important to me 

The next week I volunteered for the Women's March on Des Moines. Waking up at 7 a.m. to volunteer (mostly setting up signs and cans) was great! Women's empowerment movements like the March are synonymous with the Miss America Organization. The 4 points of the crown- Style, Success, Service, and Scholarship are reflected in Women's Empowerment movements across the world.

Look to my post next week for more about my platform while I visit a nursing home and stories about my Grandmother who inspired my platform!