quinta-feira, 2 de junho de 2016

Capital City woman is Miss Vermont 2016
By
 | June 01,2016
 

MONTPELIER — A 24-year-old Montpelier woman was crowned Miss Vermont 2016 at the Barre Opera House on Friday.

“It hasn’t quite fully hit me yet,” Rylee Field said in an interview Tuesday.

During the pageant, she performed spoken word poetry to “Mockingbird” by Rives in the talent portion of the competition. She has a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and a minor in business from Colby-Sawyer College.

For her year of service, Field plans to concentrate on positive mental health. She said she has been inspired to focus on mental health because of her own experiences with mental-health challenges.

“I think it’s really important to understand that at some point in their life everyone experiences difficulties like this,” she said. “Every year, 1 in 5 American adults experience mental-health issues. All of us know someone who has been affected by mental health challenges, and that alone is enough to say that we need to be talking more about this.”

Field works with PEAR Vermont. PEAR (People Education Advocacy Recovery) is a nonprofit public health organization that focuses on treating mental health as a health issue. Field helps run Camp Daybreak, a residential summer camp for kids aged 8-11 that have a range of social, emotional and behavioral needs. She plans to work with PEAR and other organizations that focus on mental health even more in the next year.

Initially, Field became interested in the Miss Vermont pageant because it is a scholarship program.

“Over the years it has given out thousands of dollars worth of scholarships,” she said. “The program focuses on helping women get through their education and further their educational goals. There’s nothing like hearing about someone who goes off to graduate school or started a new career because of someone she met in the Miss Vermont program.”

Field began competing in pageants during the end of her sophomore year of college.

“At that point, there was no loss,’ she said. “Either you enjoy the pageant, come have fun and have a new experience, or you win and get scholarship dollars.”

Cookie Steponaitis, MVSO ( Miss Vermont Scholarship Organization) executive director said she is delighted to have Field as the new Miss Vermont.

“She is an intelligent and engaging young woman with a passion for reaching out to people and an intense pride in her home state,” said Steponaitis. “We are excited to have her year of service begin and for her to represent us on the Miss America stage in September.”

The Miss America pageant is in Atlantic City in September. In the meantime, Field will be giving back to the community, with a focus on mental health. She said giving back is an important aspect of the pageant.

“The women that come together for Miss Vermont are some of the most talented, intellectual and driven women I know,” said Field. “These people are really passionate about their communities and helping others.” 

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20160601/NEWS01/160609969/0/kaather.asp

Nenhum comentário:

Postar um comentário