Appearance Photos and More

Hello, everyone!

I know that many of you have been patiently waiting to see photographs from my appearances. I would like to share the following links with you. Click on them, and you will be directed to a couple of photo albums I just completed. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2293073&l=5c083&id=14833133

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2293115&l=705e2&id=14833133

As you may remember, the Miss America lottery took place last Monday, and I am happy to say that I was able to choose a competition spot that I wanted! I am number 11 in the Alpha group, which means that my competition schedule will be as follows:

Monday, January 19 (PM): Interview

Tuesday, January 20: Talent

Wednesday, January 21: On Stage Question

Thursday, January 22: Swimsuit/Evening Wear

Saturday, January 24: Miss America LIVE!

After the lottery, I spent a lot of time traveling last week. On Tuesday I was in Des Moines for the CHARACTER COUNTS! Community Coalition Networking Workshop at the Iowa Hall of Pride. I met some wonderful people who share a passion for enhancing Iowa communities by developing the character of their citizens. I was able to share with these community leaders what I am doing throughout the state this year and to offer my service to their character-building initiatives.

The next morning, my mother met me in Davenport to accompany me to Chicago. While in the city, I met a personal trainer to help me prepare for Miss America. Mom and I also enjoyed shopping for makeup at Bloomingdale's and stopping at an outlet mall on the way home.

Thursday morning I was back in Des Moines for interview preparation and interpersonal skill development with the ladies at Tero. I cannot thank them enough for their continual support and encouragement. Their expertise has helped me to more effectively communicate my message as Miss Iowa and will most certainly serve me well during my Miss America interview.

Thursday evening I spent at Des Moines Area Community College as a guest at a Latinos Unidos meeting. Latinos Unidos is a not-for-profit organization committed to providing support to Hispanics and Latinos in central Iowa by focusing on education and employment in skilled occupations and professions. According to a 2007 report by the US Census Bureau, immigrants account for one in eight US residents. In Iowa, immigrants and their US-born children make up 5.9% of the population. These statistics provide one reason why character education programs must address issues surrounding diversity and the multicultural quality of our society. I wanted to learn from Latinos Unidos how I can best serve Iowa's Hispanic and Latino population as a teacher and as a Miss Iowa who seeks to promote a caring and inclusive society through character education.

On Friday I worked from my computer and spent some time organizing my wardrobe for LA. Then I drove to Sperry to spend some time with family and friends for the weekend. Tomorrow I'm off to Nevada, Iowa, to visit the children at an elementary school.

I'd like to leave you with a quote I just read on a PBS website called Character Above All: An Exploration of Presidential Leadership. This site actually offers many quotes that I'd like to share. Perhaps I'll choose one now and sprinkle others throughout my future entries. In the meantime, you may like to check out the website at www.pbs.org/newshour/character. The Character Above All project came out prior to the 1996 presidential election, and I think it raises a number of questions that are relevant to the days before us. Happy surfing! And now in the words of Abraham Lincoln: "Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing."

Wishing you a wonderful week-

Olivia