KRHC Halloween Carnival

Halloween is always an exciting holiday for children to dress up in fun costumes and most of all trick or treat! The Kinsolving Residence Hall Council at UT Austin holds an annual Halloween Carnival for the children of UT employees. This Halloween Carnival provides a safe and fun means for children to play games and trick or treat around the residence halls on Whitis Court. As a wing representative and a resident at Kinsolving, I was very excited to be a part of this event in more than one way! After many long hours of preparations, planning, and decorating the 5^th floor as the Wizard of Oz, I had a blast leading children through the halls and seeing all the fun decorations! The parents are always very appreciative of the Halloween Carnival and watching the kids have a great time through the residence halls is very enjoyable!

WPI Chili Cook-Off!

I was extremely excited to attend the WPI Firefighter’s Fund’s chili cook off on October 15 in Grapevine, TX. My wonderful sister queen, Kelli, and I were warmly welcomed and signed autographs next to Texas Rangers alumni (how cool!) I was thrilled when I was asked to help judge the chili cook-off on the “Table of Champions”! But, little did I know what I was getting myself into. I had never before judged a chili contest, or any food competition at that. There were over 20 bowls of chili and it was a very intricate process: open the lid, observe the “redness of chili”, stir around and check for consistency, smell, taste, check for after taste, dispose of spoon, clean palate with a cracker, and repeat! Although my stomach did not respond well to this, it was definitely a very interesting experience and Kelli and I had a wonderful time at the table.

“The WPI Firefighters' Fund is a 501(c)(3) non-profit entity specifically formed for the purpose of providing support to the fire service of the United States of America. Della Williams founded the WPI Firefighters' Fund in 1999. Ms. Williams is CEO of Williams-Pyro, Inc., an engineering and manufacturing firm operating in Fort Worth, Texas, since 1963. The WPI Firefighters' Fund has no employees: volunteers and key employees at Williams-Pyro conduct all outreach efforts. This unique structure allows the WPI Firefighters' Fund to concentrate all support and donations from outside sources directly to fire service personnel, injured firefighters, and the families of injured or fallen firefighters”

 Firefighters are a very important part of our society: ensuring safety, protection, and quickly responding to tragedies and I am very honored to have been a part of this event. Thank you, WPI for inviting me as a special guest!

Buddy Walk 2011

I was honored to be invited back to the Tarrant County Buddy Walk last Saturday October 15. The Down Syndrome Partnership of Tarrant County is wonderful and the Buddy Walk is their biggest annual fundraising and Down Syndrome awareness event. Last year I participated as Miss Teen Dallas County International and everyone loved having me back as Miss Teen Texas International almost as much as I enjoyed being back myself. Participating in this walk around the beautiful UT Arlington campus was truly a remarkable experience. I led the walk with the ambassador’s of the Down Syndrome 3,2,1 program and we laughed and chatted the entire way. 

“The Buddy Walk^® was established in 1995 by the National Down Syndrome Society to celebrate Down Syndrome Awareness Month in October and to promote acceptance and inclusion of people with Down syndrome. Today, the Buddy Walk program is supported nationally by NDSS and organized at the local level by parent support groups, schools and other organizations and individuals.
Over the past sixteen years, the Buddy Walk program has grown from 17 walks to nearly 300 expected in 2011 across the country and around the world. Last year alone, 285,000 people participated in a Buddy Walk! They raised more than $11.2 million to benefit local programs and services as well as the national advocacy initiatives that benefit all individuals with Down syndrome.
The Buddy Walk is a one-mile walk in which anyone can participate without special training. It is an inspirational and educational event that celebrates the many abilities and accomplishments of people with Down syndrome. Whether you have Down syndrome, know someone who does, or just want to show your support, come and join a Buddy Walk in your local community.”

Working with Down Syndrome children gives me the greatest feeling because they are always so happy and smiling. Just the simple presence of someone means the world to them. Getting the opportunity to spend time with so many wonderful people makes me appreciate the simple things in life like a friend, a hug, or even a smile.

National Night Out

Tuesday October 4, 2011 was National Night Out in Austin! As a first year student at the University of Texas at Austin, it was great to have my first appearance in Austin last week. 

National Night Out is a community-police awareness-raising event held the first Tuesday of October in Texas. The event has been held annually since 1984 and is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch in the United States and Canada. The event is meant to increase awareness about police programs in communities, such as drug prevention, town watch/Neighborhood Watch, and other anti-crime efforts.

I loved being invited to this wonderful event by Statefarm Insurance. Learning about community safety is highly important, especially since I am a newcomer to the beautiful state capitol, Austin! I had the opportunity of meeting the local police and firefighting force, signing autographs, and even getting a tour of a squad car to learn how police officers respond to emergencies!

The event was very successful as numerous vendors came from all over Austin to be a part of such a great evening. With such beautiful weather and a great Austin community, it was hard not to see a smile on every friendly citizen’s face!

 

Best Buddies UT Austin

Last Sunday September 23, I was very excited to meet my “buddy” Arianne at the Best Buddies matching party! I am more than thrilled to be Arianne’s college buddy this year and get to know her better while creating a friendship that will last a lifetime!

“Best Buddies Colleges pairs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in one-to-one friendships with college students. In the past, individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have not had the opportunity to have friends outside of their own environment. Best Buddies Colleges provides an opportunity for participants to change the world simply by making a new friend.

Best Buddies Colleges also offers volunteers a unique opportunity to develop leadership skills. With the support of school faculty and Best Buddies staff, students and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities lead and direct the chapters in their schools”

 

Arianne and I, along with her roommate Chelsea, had a great time with our first trip to Starbucks! Although, I am not a huge coffee drinker, I do love coffee house aroma and Arianne LOVES coffee. It was great sitting and chatting with her, getting to know her and her likes and dislikes more!

I can’t wait to hang out with my buddy again!

DCI Dallas: Rights and Sight for Children Benefit Concert

Traveling for the past month with famous actress and DCI Goodwill Ambassador Babita Akhter and renowned singer Beauty Das, I was excited to go back to Dallas as the last stop in the Child Rights and Sight tour with Distressed Children and Infants International. I was excited to be a part of such a wonderful benefit concert featuring our overseas guests at the beautiful DFW Marriott hotel. I was so honored to also be featured on ETV as I escorted Ms. Babita into the banquet hall. The DCI Dallas chapter put on a remarkable event with many great information booths, dancing, a picture memorabilia opportunity, and even a delicious dinner! This was an indescribable and memorable experience and I grew so much traveling throughout the nation to different DCI chapters. Being a spokesperson for DCI to help end child labor and poverty with the power of knowledge is truly a life-changing opportunity. I am eagerly working on my next big project with DCI to be my trip to Bangladesh to visit the schools, villages and most of all, give young girls the opportunity and ability to dream big by awarding scholarships through Learning Creates Futures.