November 2007 Newsletter

(December 7, 2007)

    It is hard to believe that November has come and gone. Even more mind boggling is the realization that the Miss America Live Finale is right around the corner. It is difficult to imagine that I will be headed to Las Vegas in six short weeks and that I will finally be able to experience the fruit from months of preparation for each phase of completion. 

    Having relocated to the Lehigh Valley from the Philadelphia area I needed a vocal coach who was a bit closer to my new home. Marlene arranged for me to work with Susan Boyer and it has been a fantastic  experience. She is wonderful to work with and has helped me tremendously with both my vocal technique and over all performance. 

    In addition to working with Susan on my talent I have been working out with my trainer AJ to get ready for swimsuit. I’ve never been pushed so hard in my life. He’s tough but good. Not only have I seen terrific changes in my body but I also feel stronger than ever. It honestly believe that I am in better shape now at almost 25, then when I was in dance company as a teenager. Thanks AJ! 

    Working out is really helping me keep up my stamina, especially for all of the shopping trips I have take with Marlene. We have made major headway in building my wardrobe not only for the competition but also for pageant week festivities. She makes sure that I pay attention to details not only while choosing clothing but also in picking the right accessories and shoes. As we put together outfits she is helping me think ahead of time about how my hair and makeup will complete the entire look. We have done a lot of experimenting with different looks over the past few months. You can observe the evolution of my hair alone while flipping through my photos from June until the present. 

    Despite all of this preparation it had not thoroughly hit me that I am actually going to be competing on the Miss America stage … that is until I arrived in LA. Meeting the other 51 contestants and taping the reality show finally made it all sink in. At one point during our time there Sam Haskell shared a piece of trivia with us that left me in awe. He said that our parents had a greater chance of giving birth to a son who would one day play in the Super Bowl, than they did of having a daughter who would compete for Miss America. I had never heard that before and I truly believe that I will cling to that simple statement for years to come. It is so easy to become overwhelmed with the task ahead and forget to take a moment to be thankful and humbled by having made it this far. 

    LA consumed most of November for me and by the time I retuned home it was almost Thanksgiving. I had the pleasure of spending Thanksgiving Eve with my fellow titleholders from New Jersey and Delaware as well as with Lauren Nelson, Miss America herself. Of course I took the opportunity to ask her a ton of questions about her preparation for Miss America and about her year of service. Our lovely dinner at Maggiono’s was hosted by Kim Rogers, Miss Philadelphia and it was all made possible by Kevin McAleese and the Miss Philadelphia Organization. We all were up early the next morning for the Boscov’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and it was a blast. You could not have asked for better weather. In fact at times along the parade route it felt a little too warm out. Unfortunately that trend did not last, as I found myself brushing and inch or two of snow off my car the following week.

    Clearly winter is right around the corner and with it comes the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season. I hope you will all join us for the Miss Pennsylvania Holiday Party on December 15. Those in attendance will get an exclusive preview of my Miss America wardrobe. This is an event you don’t want to miss so make sure you get your reservations in as soon as possible!