Smile. Wave. Dominate.

Lessons Learned in 2011

2011-12-28T20:26:00.000-06:00

1. Everyone suffers some kind of pain or hurt. Saying this semester was rough is putting it lightly; however, I know I wasn't going through a killer semester alone. I believe my whole group of friends would agree with me in saying that even though we went to hell-and-back this semester, we came away from it stronger because we had each other. And when I had nothing else to cling to, I knew I had the best (sorority) sisters anyone could ask for. Here's to Alpha Phi's Sophomore Class!

2. Don't take anything for granted. After seeing the devastation in Tuscaloosa, I really gained a whole new perspective on life. It's going to be years before Alabama recovers from the natural disaster. Sometimes I think we all forget that we should be grateful for simply having a roof over our heads. Seeing the things I have seen this year in Alabama and in LA has really brought me back down to earth and to remember that everything one has can be taken in an instant.

3. TTP: Trust the Process. This is a phrase that has been said on repeat to me throughout the past year. I first heard it at UIFI, and then again at Alpha Phi's ELI, and then AGAIN during my Service Immersion Trip to Tuscaloosa. I've learned to take a step back and just let go. Sometimes things don't always go as planned, if there even is a plan. Trusting the process is all about learning to trust others and trusting that, even though it may not look like it at any given point, that things will turn out right and the way they need to be. It's about not being in control and stepping outside of your comfort zone. To trust the process is to stop questioning everything and to have faith in yourself and others.

4. I learn so much more about myself, others and skills that I can actually apply in the "real world" through my activities outside of the classroom. Seriously, through my leadership positions on the Habitat For Humanity and Alpha Lambda Delta Exec Boards and through my position in Alpha Phi, I have learned valuable skills that will actually be applicable to my future. These skills such as event planning, managing a budget, conversation skills, communication etiquette, leading others, and so many others will be the skills that will help me land a job, not the facts about the Civil War or how to do some ridiculous mathematical equation. If I could, I would totally double major in extracurricular activities and leadership. Hah.

4. Boys are still stupid. Enough said.

So here's to a new year, a better semester, and good memories.

With Love,
Ashliegh

"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for someone else" -Ben Franklin

2011-12-23T14:13:00.001-06:00

On April 27th, the community of Tuscaloosa, Alabama was changed forever. An EF-4 tornado more than a mile wide ripped through the center of their town taking out over 5,000 homes and buildings, leaving over 7,000 people unemployed, and put 1,500 people in the hospital. In a matter of 6 minutes, 6 miles of Tuscaloosa were destroyed.

I arrived in Tuscaloosa on December 17th with a team of 22 Greek students from all over the country and our two leaders from the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values for a week of service. While in Tuscaloosa, we were immersed in the culture of the city and served in many different ways. From cleaning up debris and cutting down trees with the Tuscaloosa Area Volunteer Reception Center to filing paperwork and folding clothes for the Temporary Emergency Services, we were able to see just how much help the area still needed.

Community service was instilled as one of my core values at an early age. My family didn't have much but we had what we needed and we made the most of what we had; however, around the holiday season, we always found the money and time to participate in Christmas Angel programs where we would buy gifts for families who couldn't afford them. As a middle schooler, I dedicated my Wednesday nights to the AWANA program at my church and lead a table of 10 carefree and fun-loving toddlers in memorizing their Bible verses, handing out snacks, and other activities. In high school I volunteered for the Canal Fulton Historical Society, helping them to clean the historic houses and museums and volunteered within the city wherever help was needed. Now in college, I give much of my time to volunteering and advocating for Habitat For Humanity.

I do not volunteer because I feel the need to prove I'm a good person or need the recognition; I serve because it allows for the burden of another human being to be lifted from their shoulders, it gives that person hope that there is good in this world and they're not alone.

After a very rough semester, this trip was so refreshing. It reignited my hope in people, my love of forming relationships, and my passion for serving others. It reminded me that I am passionate; I am happy; and I am a leader. I am reminded to never take anything for granted. I am so thankful that I was able to serve the Tuscaloosa area as it was an incredible experience and I am so blessed to have been able to help.

After this week in Tuscaloosa, I believe this will be my most thankful and blessed Christmas yet.

With Love,

Ashliegh

The sight of the inside of this apartment brought tears to my eyes. A little girl's drawings and colored pictures were left taped to the wall with everything in ruins. This really gave me a reality check.

"There are two kinds of gratitude: the sudden kind we feel for what we receive and the larger kind for what we give."

- Edward Arlington Robinson -

‎"I'd rather lose myself in passion than lose my passion." - Jacques Mayol

2011-10-14T00:57:00.000-05:00

We're about halfway through the fall semester here at Ashland University and it's been a long past few weeks.

The past few weeks, I've been really reevaluating my life and what I hope to do. Now don't get me wrong, I love my major. I really enjoy broadcast and journalism and film and all of that. I enjoyed my time in LA and I would LOVE to have Robin Meade's job on CNN or be the editor of Seventeen Magazine. However, for some reason, I don't think it's what I'm meant to do for the rest of my life.

As many of you know, this summer I was able to attend the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute and Alpha Phi's Emerging Leader's Institute. I had such a wonderful time and learned so much about myself and leadership at both of these institutes. I've been thinking a lot about it lately and I think I'm meant to go into student affairs. I love seeing and hearing about college-aged men and women reach their potential and do such incredible and inspiring things at such a ripe age.

Being torn between these two passions of mine have left me feeling quite distressed lately. I honestly can not see myself in any other major, but I also can't see myself doing broadcast for the rest of my life.

Another thing that I've been thinking about a lot recently is Alpha Phi elections, which are 38 days away. I know many people are expecting me to run for president (and I expected myself to do that also) but after a lot of soul searching, I have decided to hold off for a year on that dream; however, I will be running for a position.

I knew the day I joined the Epsilon Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi that I wanted to someday be president. Last semester and over the summer, I thought that my time for this position would be this year. After thinking long and hard about this over the past few weeks, I've decided to wait. I want to truly develop my leadership abilities to a further extent before taking on such a position.

Part of being a leader is wanting what is best for the organization at the time being. A leader also knows their limits and not to spread themselves too thin. I believe that, right now, I may not be the best choice for Alpha Phi but I hope that, eventually, I will be. I think this process of choosing whether to run or not has come with a great deal of maturity, as it takes a very strong and mature person to be able to evaluate and critique themselves and decide on what is right for not just themselves, but for their organization as a whole.

As many of you know, I don't do anything without submitting my full passion into it. Alpha Phi and Greek life have become not just a passion but a way of life. I love the ideals that we hold for each other and holding each other accountable for each others actions. I believe I am ready to take on a higher position and I hope that my chapter will have the confidence in me to allow me to do that.

With Love,
Ashliegh

Hello Sophomore Year!

2011-09-01T13:36:00.001-05:00

I've returned from LA and am back in action at Ashland University!

What an incredible and eye-opening opportunity it was to work on the Mary Kay Inspiring Stories program. Hearing the stories of the women who will be featured in the documentary and getting to know the women on Team Joy was a wonderful experience that I wouldn't trade for the world. The women's stories of overcoming domestic violence were so empowering and filled with hope. The women who were on the Team Joy crew with me were, well, filled with joy! I made so many new friends and learned so much from those five women. I am truly blessed to have them placed into my life.

I would like to thank Mary Kay and Dreaming Tree Films for putting on this program that will empower women all over the world. I would also like to thank my sorority, Alpha Phi, for putting the application link on their Facebook. Had they not linked to it, I would have never found out about the program and never would have had such an incredible opportunity.

And now, I'm back at the lovely Ashland University for year two. This semester I am taking 18.5 credit hours, while also maintaining my leadership positions in Habitat for Humanity, Alpha Lambda Delta, 88.9 WRDL, and TV2. I will also be taking my newspaper practicum this semester so be on the lookout for a few articles written by yours truly in The Collegian!

Goals for the semester:
1. 3.5 GPA. What's up, Dean's List!? I missed you!
2. Plan Alpha Phi Semi-Formal without losing my mind.
3. Get at least 10 new people to volunteer with Habitat For Humanity.
4. DON'T GO INSANE. We don't want a repeat of last semester, yikes.

I am so excited for all the opportunities that will present themselves this semester and throughout my sophomore year. And already, Greek Life is showing it's benefits as I will be working on my blogging/journalism skills as a Collegiate Perspective blogger on the Alpha Phi blog and will be attending the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values' Tuscaloosa Immersion Trip.

For those of you freshman who may have stumbled upon my blog, GO GREEK. It is truly an amazing experience, and the best part of it is: it doesn't stop after you graduate. When you join a Greek organization, whether it's Alpha Phi, Alpha Delta Pi, Phi Mu, Delta Zeta, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Kappa Psi, or Phi Delta Theta, you join for life. I will never say "I was an Alpha Phi," but will always say "I AM an Alpha Phi."

And now, I must do some homework....

With Love,
Ashliegh

"You're a dirty hipster!"

2011-08-20T11:46:00.000-05:00

So this title might need to be explained to those not on "Team Joy" of the Mary Kay Inspiring Stories program. The phrase came from my new friend, Amanda. We were on-set at an interview with one of the domestic abuse survivors and her two teenage sons. Here in the LA area, they style for boys seems to be the v-neck tee and skinny jeans. Very hipster. Well, back to the story. Amanda had been talking to the two sons and then said something along the lines of "you're a dirty hipster!" We were all kinda confused. She explained that where she is from that's a common term. From then on it just became an inside joke for Team Joy.

So here's what I've been up to since the last time I blogged...

Tuesday:

After a day of uploading our footage from Monday and reviewing it, we all decided to go to Hollywood! However, because we don't have cars here in California, we had to take the Metro, which gave us a few good stories to tell when we get home, haha. I saw the Hollywood sign from afar, a little bit of Madame Tussaud's, Kodak Theater, Grauman's Chinese Theater, and so much more!

Wednesday:

We traveled down to the Newport area to interview our third, and last, survivor, Robin. She was such an outgoing and fun woman and it's incredible to hear her story. It's so amazing to me how much joy these women have in their lives now and it's wonderful to get to know them and to hear their stories and to see them truly loving life now. While in the area we also took Robin and her two boys to the Newport beach, which was beautiful!

Thursday:

All three of the women we interviewed joined us at the Kyoto Grand Gardens to do a group interview shoot. The gardens were a beautiful backdrop for the scene even if it was a little bit noisy. It was nice to see the survivors interacting with each other and telling their stories to one another.

Friday:

Yesterday, we were joined by the beautiful Alexa Vega! I didn't really know what to expect before meeting her but she is a very down-to-earth young woman who really showed an interest in the cause and what we were doing. It was so much fun being on set with her and getting to know her!

Today we are editing the doc and I'll be back home at Ashland University tomorrow night.

With Love,

Ashliegh

What up, LA!?

2011-08-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

I know this post is a bit delayed, as I've been in LA since Saturday afternoon; but I've been so busy with production and haven't had the time to find wi-fi!

So what have I been up to?...

Saturday:
I left Ohio at approximately 6:45 AM and then had a 4 hour layover in Minneapolis, MN. From there I flew to LAX and arrived here in LA at about 2 PM. From there I went to my hotel via the worst driver in the world. LA traffic is INSANE. Anyway, after arriving at the hotel, I crashed until my roommate, Micole, arrived and then we went out for pizza.

Sunday:
Production week starts! I am on Team Give Joy so our documentary focuses on how the domestic violence survivors have found joy through over coming what they have gone through. We received our narrators script and it seemed very....oh how do I put this...tampon commercial-ish. It was very happy and fluffy and people aren't going to take that seriously if the documentary is supposed to be about domestic violence. So as a team we spent our day revising the script and envisioning how we want our documentary to look.

For lunch, our team found a cute sushi place in Little Tokyo. I had the beset tempura I have EVER had. After production we also went to find this cute little MacnCheesy restaurant that received rave reviews from a few girls on another team. After walking about a mile on Los Angeles Avenue (which was an interesting experience, see below) we found it. Closed. Gooo team. So we ended up eating at Flames Medditeranian Grill which was DELICIOUS.

What I experienced on Los Angeles Avenue:
-The beginning of a Little Tokyo parade and almost being run over by army trucks in that parade
-Stepping over sleeping homeless people
-The WORST smell. Garbage and urine. *shivers*
-Psychos screaming at my team and I for being "snobby white women."
-People about to get it on at a bus stop (I pretttty sure I saw some money being exchanged also....)
-the end of that Little Tokyo parade....3 hours later. Yes. A THREE HOUR long parade. Imagine sitting through that one!

Monday:
After a quick tech training, we started interviewing a few of our subjects. The first woman we interviewed was this beautiful, strong woman who radiated this glow about her. During the end of her interview she was talking about the peace she felt when she left the abusive relationship and you could almost feel this sense of peace enter and fill the room. The stories we heard from the women were so inspiring and emotional to hear.

Today:
Currently, I am sitting in a Starbucks stealing their wi-fi. Well, I guess it's not stealing since I did buy a drink and breakfast sandwich. That I stood in line for. I seriously thought I wasn't going to make it to the cashier. I'm not sure what today will hold production wise but I'm very excited for what the rest of this week will hold. I believe this evening a few of my new friends and I will be going to check out Hollywood!

With Love,
Ashliegh

Miss North Coast

2011-08-07T19:50:00.001-05:00

Miss North Coast was held this past weekend in Brunswick, Ohio and I had the honor to compete with 11 other beautiful, talented, and intelligent young women. Congratulations to Jessica Nelson on winning the title of Miss North Coast. Jessica is such an inspiration to me because of her perseverance on her road to Miss Ohio. She's been competing for the past few years on the local level and this summer acquired the title of Miss Cuyahoga County and competed at Miss Ohio. Jess is very dedicated to her platform, P.E.T.S., and works with the Humane Society. Congrats, Jessica!

I had a wonderful time getting to know the newer girls competing and getting to know girls that I've competed with before better. Haley Marie and I instantly bonded at Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County back in July and I had fun dancing with her in the dressing rooms while getting ready, hahaha. Haley has such a bubbly, warm personality and I can't wait to compete with her more! I also had so much fun competing with one of my friends, Amber Galloway. Amber and I became friends back in 2009 when I was the Canal Fulton's Olde Canal Days Queen and she was Brunswick's Old Fashioned Days Queen. We had a lot of fun during our year as festival queens. I am so happy that we were able to reconnect at Miss North Coast!

I won't be able to compete again until Miss Mansfield/North Central, which is usually in December (hopefully they don't change it!). So that gives me about 4-5 months to prepare. I plan on changing my talent...again. I feel like I do have a lot of different talents but I'm not SPECTACULAR at any of them; I dance many forms of dance; I baton twirl; I played flute for 8 years, oboe for 4 and trumpet for 2. Now if I could somehow make a movie in 90 seconds, I would totally chose that as my talent. I'll keep all my readers out there guessing for as to what I'll do next.;]

In other news, I leave Saturday morning for Hollywood! I am SO EXCITED for this wonderful opportunity! I am hoping to blog about my experiences in Hollywood and film-making so make sure to check in regularly next week!

With Love,
Ashliegh

Lights, Camera, Action!

2011-07-26T23:15:00.000-05:00

As we all know, I am a Journalism and Digital Media major here at Ashland University. This summer, I have been blessed with a few opportunities to look into the film side of my major.

Next month, I will be going to Hollywood to produce and direct a documentary on domestic violence on behalf of the Mary Kay Inspiring Stories program and Dreaming Tree Films. I will be partnered with a crew of 7 other women to create this documentary. Although I have never been a victim of domestic violence, I feel that this is an important issue that society often chooses to keep "hush-hush." Through the creation of this documentary, I hope to increase an awareness of domestic violence and give women the confidence they need to stand up for themselves. Even though this documentary will be focusing on how domestic violence affects women, I believe that domestic violence can affect anyone; men, women, and children. Domestic violence is not just physical violence but can also be displayed in emotional, mental, and psychological violence. I'm very excited for this opportunity to learn more about film and domestic violence in August.

Currently, I am helping the Ashland Film Group work on a documentary project that deals with another deep issue. We are filming a documentary on the World Trade Center attack's 10 year anniversary. 9.11 Remembered covers the bombings through the eyes of Ashland faculty and students and how it affected a small community, even though it happened in a city hundreds of miles away.

Make sure to check out the 9.11 Remembered trailer here.

I am so blessed to be apart of both of these programs and so excited to be learning more about my major and these issues.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County

2011-07-18T01:48:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I competed at the Miss Greater Cleveland and Miss Cuyahoga County Pageant. I had a wonderful time getting to know all of the newer contestants and reconnecting with the girls I competed with last year. Congratulations to my good friend, Allison Goodwin, on winning Miss Cuyahoga County, and my new friend, Tera Coleman, on winning Miss Greater Cleveland!

This pageant season I have been making some changes that I'm pretty excited about:

Platform: I did change my platform to Habitat For Humanity. I love talking to people about the impact that this organization makes on communities and on people's lives whether it is new homeowners or the people who volunteer with the organization. I hope that people are able to see the passion that I have for Habitat for Humanity and I hope that I am inspiring them to get involved!

Evening Gown: I have a new evening gown which I am IN LOVE with. Last year I borrowed dresses from my Alpha Phi sisters, and I am so appreciative of their help and support through the whole process. A few weeks ago, I bought myself a dress so I wouldn't have to bug my wonderful sisters about borrowing their beautiful gowns. It's so nice to finally have a dress of my own that.

Talent: My talent last year was a jazz dance which I never really felt comfortable preforming so I knew that it was something I wanted to change, especially after my mishap at Sweeps back in March. I chose to do a ballet en pointe to "Senorita" by Bond this season. I really love the song as I feel that it shows off my more sassy and spicy side of my personality. Although I'm not a strong dancer (I've only been dancing for 5 years) and ballet en pointe is not my strongest form of dance, I really feel comfortable performing it on stage. I was so happy with the way it turned out at Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County. I was so nervous about a Sweeps repeat and was so happy with myself that I didn't mess up or fall, haha.

Interview: I know I'm getting stronger in interview every time I do it, that is what I LOVE about the Miss America Organization and competing in pageants. It's all about self-development and creating a stronger you. I have been working on my interview with someone and I am so very grateful for all of her help over the past few weeks.

As you can see, I have been working hard on improving my skills and that is one of my favorite things about pageants- self development.

Up next is Miss North Coast on August 6th in Brunswick...

With Love,
Ashliegh

Contestants!

Representin' Ashland University!

Miss Heart of Ohio, Alicia, and I

Summer Update

2011-07-07T23:08:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's July already! Summer is going by so quickly, but I'm okay with that. I'm ready for fall classes to start back up and for people to be back on Ashland University's campus. I've been living on campus this summer and it's been quite boring without all of my friends and Alpha Phi sisters!

So what have I been up to since my last post?

A few weeks ago I traveled back to Indianapolis, Indiana for Alpha Phi's Emerging Leaders Institute. I was selected by our International office to attend this program along with 150 other Alpha Phi sisters from across the United States and Canada. ELI was an incredible experience and I enjoyed getting to know sisters from other chapters while also learning about the history of women's leadership, Alpha Phi ritual, and how to lead with my values.

Alpha Phi sisters

Shortly after arriving back home in Ohio, my hometown, Canal Fulton, had its annual Olde Canal Days Festival. As a former Olde Canal Days Festival Queen, I, of course, had to watch the Junior Queen and Queen pageants. I was very impressed with the quality of girls that competed this year and am so ecstatic for the new queen, Haley Ries, and her court. Haley is such a sweet girl and I wish her the best of luck during her reign. I'm excited to see what she does with her title.

Speaking of pageants, I will be competing at Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County next weekend! This was my first MAO pageant last year and I'm excited to be returning this year. I'm also excited to showcase my new evening gown and talent (though I'm not a big fan of my costume, but hey, I can only afford one new thing at a time...*sigh*).

I've also decided to focus my platform on my work with Habitat For Humanity instead of volunteerism as a whole. Habitat For Humanity is such a unique organization that I truly enjoy volunteering with. I love that you aren't just donating money to a cause (though monetary donations are important!) you actually get to work hands on with the organization and really see the impact you are making on a community and a family's life.

In preparation for interview, feel free to leave a comment asking me a question, any question!, and I'll answer it in my next post!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Good Hair Day Photoshoot

2011-06-21T02:07:00.000-05:00

Fun Shots:

Potential Headshots:

With Love,

Ashliegh

Weekend Round-Up: Pageant Edition

2011-06-20T12:24:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was not just Father's Day (Happy Father's Day to my dad and also to my bio-dad), but this weekend was also Miss Ohio and Miss USA pageants. (2 of my 6 favorite days of the year- Miss Ohio, Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Universe, Bid Day, and my birthday :p)

Saturday night, a new Miss Ohio was crowned. Unfortunately, I couldn't afford to buy tickets to see the pageant live but fortunately, they webcast the show so I was able to stream it live over the internet. Congratulations to Ellen Bryan, Miss Clayland, on becoming Miss Ohio 2011! Ellen won a $10,000 scholarship and will compete at Miss America in January. I wish her the best of luck throughout her reign and in her preparation for Miss America.

Congratulations to the women who rounded out the Top 5!

First Runner Up: Alissa Brumbaugh

Second Runner Up: Amber Bussa

Third Runner Up: Meggie Whitman

Fourth Runner Up: Shannon O'Neill

It was really cool to watch the preliminaries and finals night this year. In years past as I followed the Miss Ohio Program, I didn't know any of the women competing and they were like celebrities to me. At my first Miss Ohio local, Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County, I competed with Marisa Bucheit (2nd RU at Miss Ohio 2010), met Meggie Whitman (Top 10 at Miss Ohio 2010), Ashley Warholic (Miss Greater Cleveland 2010), Jessica Nelson (well-known local contestant), and Becky Minger, Miss Ohio 2010, and I remember being starstruck! Being able to get to know the Miss Ohio contestants this year and competing with them was a wonderful experience and I know for a fact that all the women who competed are great role models with so much talent, beauty, intelligence, and passion for their platforms.

You can find more Miss Ohio Week photos at the following websites:

Ray Russell Design

Envisioned Memories

Mansfield News Journal

Sunday night a new Miss USA was crowned. I'm so happy that Miss New Mexico made the Top 16. I've been following her blog (Happy Brittany) for quite some time now and she is just a fabulous down-to-earth young woman.

I'm also ecstatic for the Miss USA 2011, Miss California USA Alyssa Campenella! I've been rooting for her to win Miss USA since she won Miss California USA. I could not have been happier with this years Miss USA pageant.

Photo from here.

Congrats to all the women who competed in Miss Ohio or Miss USA this weekend!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Book Review: Water For Elephants

2011-06-09T15:07:00.000-05:00

I recently finished Sara Gruen's "Water For Elephants," and really enjoyed it. So here is my first book review! Enjoy, lol.

"Water For Elephants" is a love story filled with history, drama, and comedy. The main character, Jacob, is a 90-something year old man who reflects back on his younger years when he worked for a circus during the Depression Era. The book goes back and forth between his current time in a nursing home and his past.

While working for the circus at a veterinarian, Jacob meets Marlena, the horse trainer, Walter, a midget, and Rosie, the beautiful and abused elephant.

Gruen definitely did her research before writing "Water For Elephants." Some parts of the story are inspired by true life events that she discovered during her research and the book includes beautiful photos from Depression Era circuses at the beginning of each chapter.

As a heads up to the animal lovers out there, this novel deals with circus animal abuse There are many scene that are quite gruesome and graphic. During the Depression Era, there were no regulations to protect animals.

All in all, this was a fabulous read and Gruen draws you in with her attention to detail and action.

I can't wait to go see the movie now!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Birthday Wish List

2011-06-02T17:32:00.003-05:00

With my birthday a little under a month away, I figured I'd help you out with what to get me ;P

"Morning Sunshine!" - Robin Meade - I absolutely adore Robin Meade, so of course, her book has been on my to-read list since it came out!

Q & A-A-Day 5 Year Journal - Seriously this little book is so adorable and is such a neat idea. Everyday you answer one of the questions and at the end of the year, you start over. Over the span of 5 years you'll see how much you've changed!

Make Up Brushes - As a makeup fanatic, I've been using the same brushes since I got my first set back in high school. It's time for an upgrade.

Alpha Phi Lavalier - I've had my eyes on a lavalier since I joined Greek life..the kind in my own letters anyway ;p

With Love,
Ashliegh

Stylish Blogger

2011-05-31T00:23:00.001-05:00

I had no idea that the blogging community did cute little awards like this Stylish Blogger Award! Thank you to one of my sorority sisters and fellow blogger Alyssa at SocraTeas for my first blogging award!

Receiving this award, I am now required to share seven facts about myself and tag seven stylish bloggers to do the same! Here we go!

One.

What do mashed potatoes, chicken pot pie, and chocolate chip pancakes have in common?

They're my favorite foods.

Two.

I started my own business when I was 16. I taught myself how to make corsages, boutonnieres, and wedding bouquets, etc. I called it Simply Floral and the high school kids from around my hometown enjoyed my creations for their school dances. I love flowers and I wanted to go to school for floristry but I think I'm already developing arthritis so I don't think I would last too long in the field.

Three.

I took a year off after graduating from high school. A lot of stuff was going on in my personal life at the time and I really didn't know what I wanted to do. I was really into, well, everything! I wanted to go to school for floristry, foreign languages, tourism, hospitality, business, botany, you name it, I wanted to do it at least once in my life. My year off helped me to figure out what I really want to do in my life, which is work in the broadcast and journalism fields.

Four.

I have attended four different school districts, six schools, and have lived in more houses than I can count on my two hands...and probably my toes, too. I moved around a lot as a kid which I believe helped me in the long run. Because I was always changing schools and moving, I had to learn to adapt to new situations and make new friends quickly. The downside to that is I don't really get attached to people which usually causes problems in relationships.

Five.

I'm passionate about everything I do. Alpha Phi. Pageants. Habitat For Humanity. Journalism & Digital Media major. I put 110% into these things and I won'd do something if I'm not passionate about it.

(Too bad I'm not passionate about my core classes...they're bringing me down and my GPA with it. sigh. Be passionate about academics is at the top of the Fall 2011 To Do list.)

Six.

"Miss Independent" by Kelly Clarkson is my theme songs.

Seven.

I have a super power. Finding a good deal. I'm a super shopper.

No joke. I just bought a pair of $65 heels for $1.63. Brand new. I have no idea how I pulled that one off.

Never buy something for full price.

Seven Stylish Bloggers:

Amberlyn at Something Like Glamour

Super cute blog!

Brittany at Happy Brittany

She's Miss New Mexico USA 2011 and totally inspiring!

Trisha at Live In Dreams

Tricia is a totally cool and chill..with awesome taste in music!

Abby at MISScellanea

For all your Miss Ohio info! I'm Seriously obsessed with Abby's blog, lol

Pageant Qween at Pageants & Pearls

A blog for tips, tricks, and all things pageant related! Of course I would love it!

Frankie at The Ugly Truth

Frankie's blog is all about life ands its "ugly truths" that we all must face. Frankie is one of my first friends I made while at AU and I'm so happy that we're also APhi sisters <3

Amber at Wanna-Be-English Major

Amber and I go wayyy back to high school and we're now APhi sisters at AU. Right now shes doing the 30 Day Photo Challenge on her blog which is pretty awesome!

With Love,

Ashliegh

I am ready.

2011-05-25T22:45:00.000-05:00

First and foremost, I want to thank the Richard G. Miller Memorial Foundation for providing a scholarship to cover my tuition for the Undergraduate Inter-Fratenity Institute. Without their financial support, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to take part in such a wonderful and empowering institute that believes in Greek life and all that it has to offer collegiate students. I feel so blessed to have been able to experience UIFI, learn the things I have learned, and meet the amazing individuals that I met.

While at UIFI, I learned so much about leadership and Greek life. I learned that leadership is not a title; rather it is the change and impact one can have as an individual. We learned education does not stop when one is initiated into their fraternity/sorority.

One of the big things that I personally took away from UIFI is living Alpha Phi's Ritual. There are two types of ritual. There is Ritual (notice the uppercase R) and there is ritual (notice lowercase R).

Ritual with the big R represents ceremonies, traditions, creeds, purposes, mottos, symbols, etc.
Ritual with the little R represents a daily activity (example: how and when you brush your teeth; your morning ritual, etc).

Our goal as members of the Greek society is to make Ritual our ritual (notice the uppercase and lowercase!?). Make the values that are listed in our creeds and ceremonies part of your daily life. LIVE your Ritual.

On the morning or evening of your initiation you receive membership for life into your fraternity/sorority, secrets, sisterhood, and responsibilities. During initiation you tell the world that they expect something different from you. They expect a higher standard. We leave behind the excuse that "everyone else is doing it."

Greek organizations purpose in this world is to allow its members to strive for excellence in values and character by having its members hold each other accountable for the others actions. But we can't live our Rituals if we don't know our Ritual.

1. Learn your Ritual. Take a look at your Ritual Book, Initiation Ceremony, Creed, or Purpose. Memorize a part of it. Reflect on it.

2. Live your Ritual. Apply what you learned to your life. Everyday. Hold yourself accountable to it.

3. Teach your Ritual. Teach your Ritual to another brother/sister. Teach it to your new members. Allow them to learn it and live it. Hold each other accountable.

4. Expect it. Expect your brothers/sisters to live your Ritual. Turn Ritual into ritual.

Alpha Phi values scholarship, service, sisterhood, character development, loyalty, and leadership. I promised my sorority to live by these values the day I signed my bid. Today, I rededicate myself to these values. Sisters, I challenge you to do the same.

Remember your Initiation? Why did you join your fraternity/sorority? How are you living your Ritual?

Reignite that passion you had for your fraternity/sorority when you received your bid. Live your Ritual.

With Love,
Ashliegh

Theta Tau Class; Chapter 6

Friends

Chad, Colin, and I

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same

I believe in my fraternity.

2011-05-24T01:51:00.000-05:00

This evening at UIFI, our lead facilitator, Erin of Delta Gamma, asked a few of us to recite our sorority or fraternity's creed, purpose, or motto. That few, lead to the entire room of participants reciting creeds, purposes, mottos, etc.

At this session of UIFI, I am the only participant from the Alpha Phi sorority. I felt so empowered when I stood up and said "Hand to Hand. Heart to Heart. I believe in my fraternity. I believe in Alpha Phi." Just standing there in this small room overflowing with Greek leaders and hearing the passion in their voices as they say their creeds reignited the passion I have for Alpha Phi, my own chapter, and Greek Life.

Near the end of spring semester, I was feeling burnt out after all the drama, formal, and Greek week. Being here at UIFI has reminded me of why I chose Alpha Phi and why I chose to set myself to the higher standards of Greek Life.

Alpha Phi Creed

I believe in the friendships formed

in the springtime of my youth.

I believe in its high ideals

which lift me up beyond myself.

I believe in its earnest drive for good scholarship,

moral character, and genuine culture.

I believe in it as a shrine of

international sisterhood wherein

I may find love and loyalty,

sympathy and understanding inspiration

and opportunity.

I believe in it as a creator of good citizenship,

helping me to do my work well,

to live in harmony with others, and

to serve my country and to trust in God.

I believe in my Fraternity.

I believe in Alpha Phi.

- Annette Holt Hitchcock, Pi 1912

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 2 UIFI

2011-05-22T15:36:00.000-05:00

UIFI has been an incredible experience so far and I'm excited for what the next 3 days have in store. I am at the Alpha Xi Delta Sorority House at Indiana University with about 50 or so other Greeks from all over the country. There are a ton of Delta Gamma girls here (I guess their nationals sends one girl from each of their chapters to UIFI) and so many sororities and fraternities that I have never even heard of!

It feels great to be surrounded by so many people who have the share the same values and goals for their Greek Life experience to make the most out of it. In just the past 2 days we've learned so much about vision, character, values, and leadership and there is still 3 days left of things to learn.

I'm excited for all of the information and ideas that I'll be able to take back to the Epsilon Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi, Ashland University's Panhellenic and Interfraternity Councils, and the Ashland community.

With Love,
Ashliegh

-Never underestimate a person's ability to lead.-

Coming to you from Bloomington, Indiana...

2011-05-20T15:46:00.001-05:00

Yesterday afternoon my parents picked me up from AU and we arrived in Indiana last night. Why am I in Indiana you ask? Well, I 'm here in Bloomington, Indiana because tomorrow starts the 5-day long Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute (UIFI).

UIFI brings together fraternity and sorority members from across the country for a 5-day hands on leadership training experience. It's pretty much what I would call "greek camp."

Last night we stayed at at motel which]seemed to appear as if it came straight from Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." Bates Motel. Yep. Fortunately, despite the creepy factors that it had, we survived.

Early this morning we traveled to Indianapolis to explore Indiana's capitol. Not a whole lot of exciting things going on. Looked just like Cleveland.

This afternoon we went to Indiana University to find the Alpha Xi Delta House which is where UIFI will be. While trying to find the house, we found the Alpha Phi House and the Phi Delta Theta House. All the houses on this campus are beautiful! Indiana University has about 30-40 Greek chapters.

With Love,
Ashliegh

Me.

2011-05-18T16:22:00.000-05:00

Age: Almost 20!

Bed Size: one of those college beds..i think its a twin?

Chore you Hate: vacuuming.

Dogs: Scooby. I'm not a big fan of dogs...

Essential start of your day: Fiber One Bar!

Favourite Colour: Emerald Green, Black, and Red

Gold or Silver: Gold

Height: 5'5"!

Instruments I play: flute, oboe, trumpet

Job Title: Student. WRDL Student Operations Manager. Student Caller.

Kids: None

Live: Ohio

Mom's name: Kim

Mom & I

Nickname: JARZi!

One of my Senior Pictures (compliments of Decia Beck)

Pet Peeve: people with no self-confidence.

Quote from a movie: "On Wednesdays we wear pink!" - Mean Girls

Right or left handed: Right

Siblings: 2 half sisters, 1 step sister, 2 half brothers

Time you wake up: 9 am

Underwear: Victoria's Secret!

Vegetables you dislike: celery. ugh.

What makes you run late: bad timing

X-rays you've had done: wrist. ankle.

Yummy food you make: peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

Zoo animal: OSTRICHES!!!!!!

They're not my favorite animal (that would be polar bears, dolphins, and white tigers) but I kinda have a thing for them. If you went to high school with me, you would understand. :p

And now you know some pointless fun facts about me!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Botox & Pageants

2011-05-17T12:33:00.001-05:00

Due to the recent events of a California mother injecting her 8-year-old daughter with botox, I have been asked more than usual if I participated in "Toddlers & Tiara" pageants as a child. The answer is no, I did not participate in "Toddler &Tiara"-like pageants. Personally, I am horrified that child glam pageants have gotten so out of hand and dislike the amount of bad publicity they give pageants in general.

Toddler's And Tiara's Pageants (Glam Pageants)

photo from here

I believe that pageants can be good for girls to compete in. I'm not talking about the "glam" pageants such as Toddlers &Tiara's that we see everyday on TV. I'm talking about the pageants that focus on the young girl's inner beauty and help her to develop confidence, self-worth, and esteem. These pageants, such as Cinderella International Scholarship Program, National American Miss, American Co-Ed, and International Junior Miss and local festival pageants are focused on providing an outlet to develop these characteristics and provide scholarship opportunities.

Cinderella International Pageant (Natural Pageant)

photo from here

I started to compete in pageants when I was 15 years old. My two younger sisters started at 13. All three of us greatly enjoy competing in pageants and believe that they have helped us develop into the young women we are today.

At 15 I used to be incredibly shy. During the on-stage portion of my first pageant I froze up on stage. Through preparing for pageant competition, I developed skills such as public speaking. I transformed into the confident young woman that I am today.

The good things about pageants:
-develop self-confidence
-community involvement (many pageants focus on community service!)
-scholarship opportunities
-helps a young girl develop into a well-rounded young woman
-a great networking opportunity
-form friendships with girls all across the country
-develop public speaking skills
-a sense of self-worth
-interview skills!!

Am I supporting Botox mom? Absolutely not. An 8-Year-old does not need botox, cosmetic enhancement, or plastic surgery at that age. I'm all for pageants, but I'm not for "glam pageants." I believe they are doing opposite what pageants are meant to do. Pageants are meant to enhance a girls natural beauty from the inside, out.

What are your thoughts on the pageant matter?

With Love,
Ashliegh

P.S. Here is an awesome interview that the 700 Club did with Miss America 2009 Katie Stam. Enjoy!

Hello Summer! I've Missed You!

2011-05-11T08:46:00.001-05:00

Summer 2011 is finally here and I'm pretty pumped up about it!

School let out for me on Wednesday and I've been rockin' shorts and tank tops ever since!

This summer I'll be attending the Undergraduate Inter-Fraternity Institute and Alpha Phi's Emerging Leader Institute. Both programs I am very excited to attend both of these leadership programs and learn valuable skills that I can bring back to help my chapter, my panhellenic and IFC councils, campus.

I'll also be working at Ashland University as a student caller for the month of May and as the Director of Publicity for the student radio station, 88.9 WRDL. I'm very excited for my job as Director of Publicity as I'll be doing valuable work with my broadcast communications major. Maybe this will help me land an internship next summer?!

Besides all of these great opportunities, I still have a lot of time to kill since I am staying on the beautiful (but boring) Ashland University campus. So I took it upon my list-making self to make, of course, a list of things to do this summer!

1. Visit another state.

With the potential of visiting Indiana, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Illinois, why WOULDN'T this be on the list!

2. Get an awesome tan.

To go along with #3...

3. Get a rockin' bod and workout everyday.

My six pack abs are coming out

4. Read 10 books.

Catch up on that to-read list....first up, Sara Gruen's Water For Elephants.

5. Go to Cedar Point.

I'm a thrill junkie. Dragster and Millenium, FTW!

6. Karaoke.

7. Klepto Tuesdays

it's an APhi thing...ahaha

8. Watch 15 Classic Movies
such as Singin' In The Rain, Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Godfather, Psycho, etc official list coming soon...

9. Go to Warped Tour.
...again!

10. prepare for pageant season.
My next pageant is July 16th and you can be sure I'll be using this summer to kick up my pageant preparation.

With Love,
Ashliegh

Things I've Learned

2011-05-04T11:51:00.002-05:00

I have learned and changed so much in such a short amount of time since leaving my home and going off to college. There were good times, not so good times, and well, the just plain ugly times. Here are some things that I learned throughout this year.

1. Whenever something bad happens, I try to come away with a lesson from it. Learn from your mistakes, move on, and don't make that same mistake. I realize people make mistakes. People make a lot of mistakes, including me; but I'v learned you have to be ready for the consequences of those mistakes and be proactive in making sure you don't make the same mistake again and again.

2. The problem with being an overachiever, is that people will always expect you to over achieve and if you aren't for one moment, people become disappointed in you. Once people know what you are capable of, they expect you to be able to do everything.

3. Boys are stupid. Plain and simple. Sure, there's that one that isn't. But in general, boys are stupid and they aren't worth the stress or drama.

4. The best way to learn how to do something is to simply do it! Earlier this semester, I hated editing my videos because I did not know how to use the program we have called Avid. After many all-nighters in the Avid Lab I learned how to use the system and now I love editing!

5. Drama happens and people talk crap, but keep calm and carry on. I have gone through more drama in this one year of college than I ever had to put up with in high school. Two weeks after arriving on campus some girl was threatening to beat me up because I was becoming friends with a guy who she had liked. This semester, I went through hell and back. But you know what? IT DOESN'T MATTER!

6. I am capable of leading. In high school I never really had the chance to take on a leadership position in any of my activities. Now in college, I have a leadership position in Alpha Phi, Habitat for Humanity, 88.9 WRDL, and Alpha Lambda Delta. And you know what? I'm GOOD at leading! I'm learned that I'm not afraid to take an initiate to do or fix something. Something that was very different for me to experience this year was people followed me. I'm not talking creeping around bushes and stalking me kind of following. People followed me in a way that they watched what I was doing and trusted me to lead them the right way. It was just a really mind-blowing revelation for me to realize that I can be a leader and I am a leader.

With Love,
Ashliegh

Day 29

2011-05-02T15:25:00.000-05:00

Day 29 - A picture that can always make you smile.

I have so many pictures that cause me to smile when I look at them. A single picture can hold so many memories and it seems, when you go back and look through that old photo album, you find yourself feeling the same emotions and feelings that you did when the picture was taken. Here are some favorites.

My Alpha Phi Family

Senior Homecoming '08

Habitat House from Spring Break 2011

Cody and I at Mr. University 2011 (don't ask questions.)

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 28

2011-05-02T15:14:00.001-05:00

Day 28 - A picture of something you're afraid of.

I am afraid to fall in love. To have that feeling of vulnerability, to be dependent on someone to be a consistency in one's life...it's scary. I'm an extremely independent and strong young woman and it's not that I don't want to fall in love. Because I do. But I need the security that they aren't going to go anywhere and they're willing to put up with my craziness, be patient, and take the time to break down the walls.

But I think most of all is when the walls fall, I'll break; maybe that's why I'm so afraid.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 27

2011-04-30T19:23:00.000-05:00

Day 27 - A picture of yourself and a family member.

Canal Days 2008

Brittney won the title of Olde Canal Days Junior Queen

Amiee, Brittney, and I before the 2010 pageant

I was the 2009 Olde Canal Days Queen during this picture and preparing to pass on my title.

This is after the 2010 pageant.

Amiee won Olde Canal Days Second Runner Up.

We're just a family of princesses.

I love my sisters! We often fight a lot but we still love each other and I don't know what I would do with out them.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 26

2011-04-29T02:06:00.002-05:00

Day 26 - A picture of someone that means a lot to you.

-Julie-

Julie is my former majorette coach! She is the one person who helped me come out of my shell and become the person I am today.

All of Julie's baton students at her wedding!

She helped me get into baton, dance, and pageants.

A woman who has had a great influence on my life is my former majorette coach, Julie. I first met Julie while I was a freshman in high school and she instantly became a huge part of my life. When we first met, I was a shy, insecure, and quiet girl and through the years I transformed into a confident and outgoing woman. Julie is the one person who saw the potential in me when no one else did. She always compared me to a flower, saying “one day, Ashliegh, you will bloom in to a beautiful flower.” With her help, I did. Julie is the woman who helped me get started in pageants and instilled a confidence in me that is unshakeable.

Julie holds many qualities that make her beautiful from the inside out. She is honest, trustworthy, compassionate, and hard-working. Julie knows everyone in our community and is very involved. She is a majorette coach at the local high school and also teaches elementary and middle school students baton twirling. She also volunteers her talents as a baton coach at a local dance studio and trains many dancers there on baton twirling. Julie is also the director of the Olde Canal Days Pageant and has helped many girls in interview and modeling skills.

Throughout the years Julie was not just my majorette coach, but one of my greatest confidantes and cheerleaders. Julie’s friendship on one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Habitat For Humanity

2011-04-28T21:18:00.000-05:00

One of my assignments this semester for my Field Production class was to make a mini-documentary. I chose to do my project on Ashland University's Habitat For Humanity Spring Break trip. While in Columbus, Georgia I wasn't just building houses; I was also lugging around 3 different cameras for my documentary project. It is finally completely produced and edited so I thought I would share with all of you my mini-doc. Enjoy!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 25

2011-04-27T15:06:00.000-05:00

Day 25 - A picture of your day.

This morning I had my last Writing For The Media class with Professor Matt Tullis for the semester. We're a pretty lighthearted class who likes to joke around and try and make school a little more fun.

Since the class is in the CFA computer lab, students are often found on facebook, email, etc during class (we're horrible students, we know...). Well this morning, Chrissy took a picture of our dear professor while he was going over our exam for next week then promptly posted it on facebook and tagged the whole class in it. Since most of the class was already on facebook (I was not) the class busted out laughing and had a whole conversation via photo comments. It made my morning!

Some Matt Tullis quotes from this morning:

"Nobody ever listens to me..."

"You guys are gonna give me a complex."

Tullis still doesn't know what happened in class today.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 24

2011-04-26T19:51:00.000-05:00

Day 24 - A picture of something you wish you could change.

The ridiculous amount of homework I have this week is something I would change, lol. This week I have Four english papers to write, a feature story to write for the Orientation issue of The Collegian, a package to edit, a vosot to shoot and edit, a music video to edit, and heaven knows what else I have to do!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 23

2011-04-25T23:44:00.000-05:00

Day 23 - A picture of your favorite book.

Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird is my favorite book. I read it for the first time in my sophomore English class back in high school and fell in love with it. The book tells the timeless tale of growing up and the moral issues one faces. I've read it so much that the binding on my copy of the book is falling apart, birthday gift anyone?

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 22

2011-04-25T13:41:00.000-05:00

Day 22 - A picture of something you wish you were better at.

I wish I were a better dancer.

I absolutely love dancing and I think I'm pretty good at it considering how long I have been dancing. Unfortunately, I'm at a disadvantage in the dance world since most dancers have been dancing since they learned how to walk. I started taking dance classes at the age of 14.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 21

2011-04-25T13:30:00.000-05:00

Day 21 - A picture of something you wish you could forget.

I honestly couldn't think of something that I wish I could forget. All the memories I have made, the people I've met, and the things I've done are the things that have made me who I am today and who I will be in the future and I don't think I would want to forget any of that whether it was a good memory or a bad memory. I'm proud of who I am.

With love,

Ashliegh

Day 20

2011-04-22T00:52:00.000-05:00

Day 20 - A picture of somewhere you would love to travel to.

Greece

It's so beautiful.

It's full of history.

Greece is such a beautiful country filled with so much history and culture. I would LOVE to travel there someday.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 19

2011-04-22T00:43:00.000-05:00

Day 19 - A picture and a letter.

My Dearest Megan,

I would like to start this letter with I miss you. I miss you a lot. I'm home in Canal Fulton this weekend for the last time for a while and you're still at Miami University. Talk about a sad story.

Anyways, on with the letter. You're one of my best friends and I don't know how I would have made it through high school without you.

We've been through good times and the bad times but no matter what we always pulled through and supported each other. We've been there for each other through stupid boys, ridiculous amounts of homework, getting ready together for school dances, Cedar Point trips, canoe trips, New Years Eve parties, and so much more.

It's been two years since our high school graduation and I feel like we don't talk as much but I know that I can still go to you for anything and we're still best friends, despite the distance between Ashland University and Miami University.

I just wanted to let you know that I'll always have your back and I miss you. a lot.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 18

2011-04-20T09:14:00.000-05:00

Day 18 - A picture of your biggest insecurity.

Perfection is a myth; however, I am always chasing for it. For those who know me, they know that I am very hard on myself in every way possible. I expect perfection from myself in every way- my grades, my body, my confidence, my mannerisms, the way I act, my ability to do something. Everything.

I know nobody can be perfect and I know that I am not perfect. I put on a few pounds this semester that I did not need. My grades dropped a little bit this semester. I flirted too much. I'm selfish. I could have been a better leader.

I'm okay with who I am and confident in myself. I'm not the type of girl to sit around and complain about my weight or say "I'm ugly" or "I wish I could be so-and-so." However, I still expect more out of myself. I expect myself to do my best and BE the best.

I guess that is what has been off with me this semester. I haven't been able to do anything perfectly.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 17

2011-04-20T01:55:00.000-05:00

Day 17 - A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently.

College

I am so happy that I am a student at Ashland University.

I am a firm believer in everything happens for a reason (sometimes, the hard part is figuring out what that reason is, though). After graduating high school, a lot of stuff happened and I wasn't ready to go to college. I wanted to be like the rest of my friends- meeting new people and going to college and doing something with their lives. I was really disheartened that I wasn't able to do that. However, now that I look back, taking a year off was one of the best decisions I could have made. Had I not taken a year off, I would have never even thought to attend Ashland University or even be a broadcast communications student. AU has already opened up so many fantastic opportunities for me in so many ways.

I have changed a lot and learned a lot since going to college but I think I will save that for my freshman year review post coming soon. :]

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 16

2011-04-19T02:18:00.000-05:00

Day 16 - A picture of someone who inspires you.

The Fall 2010 Alpha Phi New Member Class is a group of talented, ambitious, beautiful, and classy young women. I am so glad that each of them has been placed into my life. Each of them brings different talents, abilities, and traits to the chapter and I believe we will lead our chapter very well in the future.

My member class inspires me to take the leadership positions I do and to truly live the Alpha Phi values of scholarship, service, leadership, character development, sisterhood, and loyalty everyday. They inspire me to truly leave a legacy in this chapter and to get involved.

Sorority life is all about what you put into it. What you put in, is what you get out of it. These girls inspire me in every way possible and each of them hold a special place in my heart.

AOE sisters.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 15

2011-04-19T02:03:00.000-05:00

Day 15 - A picture of something you want to do before you die.

I love travelling but I have never been to a different country before. I took both French and Spanish in high school and love learning about foreign cultures, languages, food, music, etc. So its only appropriate that one of the things I want to do before I die is visit each of the continents or as many countries as possible in my lifetime.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 14

2011-04-17T13:11:00.000-05:00

Day 14 - A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.

My Mom.

Mom, Dad, and I

I love my mom. She is always supportive,caring, and loving and I look up to her a lot. She has gone through a lot in her lifetime and she always maintains herself in a classy way. I appreciate everything she does for me between the little surprises like a reese cup or just showing up on campus to hang out.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 13

2011-04-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

Day 13 - A picture of your favorite band or artist.

The Goo Goo Dolls.

The Goo Goo dolls have been around since forever. Literally, 1986. I love John Rzeznik's voice and the soulful lyrics that all of their songs seem to have. "Iris" is one of my all-time favorite songs.

Jack's Mannequin

I've been listening Andrew McMahon since his days with Something Corporate and followed him to Jack's Mannequin. Like the Goo Goo Dolls music, Jack's Mannequin lyrics just speak to you. My favorite songs by Jack's Mannequin are "Dark Blue" and "The Mixed Tape."

I highly suggest you readers check out both of these wonderful bands and their music, if you aren't already listening to them.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 12

2011-04-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

Day 12 - A picture of something you love.

Well, it's Greek Week here at AU so something I love is Greek Life!

Alpha Delta Pi, Delta Zeta, Phi Mu, Alpha Phi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Kappa Psi, and Phi Delta Theta are the different sorority/fraternity organizations on AU campus.

Greek Organizations open up many opportunities, support personal development, and are committed to the ideals of scholarship, service, and leadership.

The great thing about Ashland University's Greek Life system is that all the chapters are supportive of each other. Although we might be brothers or sisters of a different chapter, we all chose to go Greek and are brothers and sisters in Greek life as a whole.

Three cheers for Greek Unity!

Good luck to AU Greek Life this week during Greek Week!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 11

2011-04-14T01:15:00.000-05:00

Day 11 - A picture of something you hate.

Ugg Boots

I hate Ugg Boots. I think they are tacky, especially the ones with fur. Sometimes (and I mean, sometimes) they are appropriate when worn with maybe jeans and a parka. But please, this whole lets-wear- ugg boots-with-sweatpants, or worse, let's-wear-ugg boots-with shorts, its gotta end. Please. Stop. Go look in the mirror. You look ridiculous. Change, please, I beg of you.

Don't get me started on the ones with fur. Those are never appropriate. You look like you just got back from mammoth hunting with your lady friends. You look ridiculous.

I hope I did not offend anyone during this post. Just stating it how I see it.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 10

2011-04-13T01:31:00.000-05:00

Day 10 - A picture of the person you do the most messed up things with.

Blogosphere, I now introduce you to my guy best friend, Sean.

Sean and I go way back to 8th grade where I had just transferred to Northwest Middle School from Green Middle School. Sean had been dating one of my new friends, Sydney, at the time but I didn't know who he was. We were all walking in from recess and he was right behind me and for some reason, I turned around and said, "Who the crap are you?" Great first impression, I know, I'm really good with first impressions. Ok, so not really, but they make for great stories. Hahaha

Anyways, we've been best friends since then and ended up dating our sophomore year of high school. The picture above is us before Homecoming. Look at how young we are! Good heavens, we're getting old.

Sean and I went to our Senior Prom together as best friends :]

Picture Scavenger Hunt

Sean and I have been through a lot and we do a lot of ridiculous things. I know I can be my 100% crazy self around him and he won't judge me (usually :p). We've gone driving at 2 AM to get Taco Bell or IHOP while singing our lungs out and dancing in the car on the way. We went to Florida together with the band in 2007. (Side note: "There are no crocodiles in Florida." Thank you, Sean, I didn't know!)

If I remember correctly, we went to a high school football game after we had already graduated and it started downpouring. We broke out the umbrella and started singing (more like screaming) rain songs such as Rihanna's "Umbrella" and Gene Kelly's "Singin' in the Rain." Just one of the ridiculous moments during our times together.

Kidnapping Natalie.

We've been canoeing in the pool in his backyard and we've been on canoe trips down the Tuscarawas River. There were bike rides and zombie-movie marathons. We've been found lost walking aimlessly around Pennsylvania cornfields and played Apples To Apples with his Grandma. (Grandma: "Fuzzy Handcuffs!") And I would like to add that I was the one who convinced him to audition for the musical and Northwest Singers our senior year. :]

So here's to many more years of ridiculous moments and sitting in a nursing home later in life wacking each other with our canes, having wheelchair races, and annoying the other residents (because you know it's gonna happen).

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 09

2011-04-12T10:36:00.000-05:00

Day 09 - A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.

My Family

I don't know where I 'd be if it wasn't for my family. Sure, we put the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional,' and we've been through a lot of weird situations, but at the end of the day, we're still there for each other and I know I can count on them to love me for who I am no matter what and support me.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 08

2011-04-11T11:25:00.001-05:00

Day 08 - A picture that makes you laugh.

A lot of things make me laugh. So again, I had trouble choosing just one picture to post today, so here are a few pictures of my friends and I that make me laugh. My friends back home in Canal Fulton and I did some ridiculously crazy things back in the day. We called ourselves "The Front Porch Kids" because after school everyone would come to my house and hang out on the front porch. We would hide bikes in the tree, attempt to get trucks that passed by to honk, trashcan wars and so much more. When I was with them I didn't care what time it was or what still needed done or how ridiculous I looked. We just had fun.

Haley, Will, and Garrett hiding in my closet

The Front Porch Kids crash Rivertree Church's youth group meeting and bust out Twister

Trash Can Wars

Senior Prom

Scavenger Hunts..Sean kidnapping Alex while Codeman tries to distract Alex by wearing a gorilla mask...and my shirt....?

Haley, Sean, and I canoeing in Sean's pool (BEST PICTURE, EVER)

I swear to God we were sober during all of our madness.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Weekend Round-up

2011-04-10T23:03:00.001-05:00

Saturday was the annual Alpha Phi Formal which I had the lovely opportunity to plan as Director of Chapter Events (aka Social Chair). After months of stressing, planning, not sleeping, having nightmares, the night had come..and it turned out BEAUTIFULLY.

I would like to thank my committee- Jen, Amber, Desi, Kristen, and Brittany for all of their wonderful amounts of help through out the formal-planning process. Jen for helping me get the place together; Amber for her wonderful decorating skills; Desi for doing a great job as VP Program Development and keeping me on track; Kristen for writing the checks; and Brittany for helping with the busing. I would also like to thank you to Michelle and her fiance for coming out at 10:30 A.M. to help Amber and I decorate the Ashland Country Club. A special thank you goes out to my lovely boyfriend, Cody, for putting up with my rants and weird moods due to stress and lack of sleep; thanks for keeping me calm and bringing me back down to earth when I needed it. :]

Center pieces

my lovely date, Cody

The ever-beautiful Amber!

The one and only Brittany!

All my sisters <3

This afternoon, Ashland University held its 24th Annual Leadership and Service Recognition Reception. I had been nominated for the Emerging Leader Award by the Alpha Phi Sorority and the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. I am humbled to have been nominated by these two organizations that are so dear to me and am proud to represent them as the Ashland University Emerging Leader. I am honored to know that I will be leaving a legacy on this campus when I graduate in 2014. Congratulations to all of those who received a nomination and/or were selected to receive an award! You are all dedicated and talented students and were all very deserving of your recognition as a leader on the AU campus.

All of the students, faculty, and staff who received an award at the Leadership and Service Recognition Reception

Emerging Leader Award

Cody received the Outstanding Male Undergraduate Award, too!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 07

2011-04-10T22:29:00.000-05:00

Day 07 - A picture of your most treasured item.

I have a lot to be grateful for to have in my life. I honestly can't think of just ONE "most treasured item" so here are a few items that I hold dear to my heart.

1. My Scrapbooks.

My scrapbooks are back at home in Canal Fulton right now, so I don't have a picture to show you all of them. I believe I have about 10 total. I enjoy scrapbooking and being crafty. It's my stress reliever. My scrapbooks are filled with memories from middle school, high school, and my year of service as the Olde Canal Days Queen the year after I graduated. I'm currently working on my college scrapbook. I love being able to look back and remember the times I've spent with my family and friends and just looking back at "the good ol' days."

2. My Alpha Phi Badge.

I believe joining the Epsilon Alpha chapter of Alpha Phi was probably the best decision I could have ever made in college. Sure, it can sometimes be stressful and full of drama, but in the end, it's all worth it. I love my Alpha Phi sisters. AOE sisters; to everyone else: GO GREEK! (Why am I not on Panhel? I love Greek Life in general!)

3. Pearl Pendant Necklace

If you look closely, I am wearing a single pearl necklace. I ALWAYS wear this necklace. I received this necklace as a gift from my Grandma Jarvis on my 16th birthday and I hope to one day pass it on to my daughter on her 16th birthday. (...If I have kids, anyway.)

There you have it, 3 of my most treasured items.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 06

2011-04-09T12:14:00.000-05:00

Day 06 - A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.

Robin Meade!

Why?

1. She graduated from Ashland University with her Radio/TV degree.

2. She was Miss Mansfield 1992 and Miss Ohio 1992.

3. She has her own morning show, Morning Express With Robin Meade.

4. She works for CNN in Atlanta, Georgia. My future dream place of employment and city to live in.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 05

2011-04-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

Day 05 - A picture of your favorite memory.

Winning the title of the 2009 Olde Canal Days Festival Queen is by far my favorite memory. During my year of service, I completed over 200 hours of community serivce, rode in over 20 parades, and made so many new friends (one of which will be coming to AU next year!)It was such an honor to represent the city of Canal Fulton and the Olde Canal Days Festival at the various festivals held throughout the state of Ohio. I will never forget my time served as festival queen, and it is my dream to one day take over and run the Olde Canal Days Queen's Pageant.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 04

2011-04-07T23:34:00.002-05:00

Day 04 - A picture of your night.

Tonight my NW Aphi sister, Amber, and I worked on formal decorations. We made the cupcake tree, placecards, and a fabulous anchor cut out. The theme for formal is "Under the Sea" and the decorations are turning out beautiful!

Planning the annual formal for my sorority is one of my jobs as Director of Chapter Events. Personally, I like planning the mixers and events with the other sororities and fraternities on campus more than planning formal, but someone's gotta do it!

Pictures coming soon!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 03

2011-04-06T09:15:00.000-05:00

Day 03 - A picture of the cast from your favorite show.

The Miss America Pageant!

Ok, so I know this isn't a series but it is one of three shows (Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Universe) I absolutely will not miss every year. It's the Miss America Pageant. 53 beautiful women representing each state, plus District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands compete in swimsuit, talent, evening gown, and on-stage question in front of millions to chose America's next Miss America.

This year, 17 year old Miss Nebraska, Theresa Scanlan won the coveted title. Scanlan is the youngest young woman to be crowned Miss America since the organization implemented the age range of 17-24 in 1937.

I'm not just a pageant contestant. I'm a pageant fan. I know random Miss America trivia and I love trying to predict who will win each year.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 02

2011-04-05T19:22:00.000-05:00

Day 02 - A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.

Haley and I at TKE Formal this past weekend

Blogworld, I would like to introduce you to Haley. Haley has been my best friend for six years now and she has had such an influence on my life, in good ways, and in bad ways. :D She knows me better than anyone else on this earth and knows exactly what I'm thinking before I even speak.

Haley has been there through it all. We've been through break-ups, surprise birthday parties, drive-in parties, trashcan wars, canoe trips, high school dances, baton classes, band, majorettes, clubbing, and just the random crap that we do. The good. The bad. The ugly.

I am truly thankful that God has placed her into my life.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Day 01

2011-04-04T14:56:00.001-05:00

I don't usually follow these when they go around Facebook, but I thought this might be fun to blog about. I usually use my blog to update my family and friends on what I've been up to in my life, but I would like to start posting fun blogs, too. Enjoy!

Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts.

01. Alpha Phi

02. I'm a princess. You better believe it.

03. Favorite colors - Emerald Green, Red, Black (but not all together!)

04. I adore Audrey Hepburn. And not just because she's an icon. Miss Hepburn did something with her fame. She volunteered a lot of her time with UNICEF. She isn't just another Hollywood icon that just about every girl admires without knowing anything about her. She was a humanitarian. She changed the world and never let her fame go to her head. She remained humble, beautiful, and is still the epitome of class.

05. I have a heart shaped scar on my leg.

06. Even though it frustrates me often, I truly love my major (broadcast communications)

07. I love food. I do my best to eat healthy though.

08. I love a good workout. Seriously.

09. I make corsages, boutonnieres, wedding bouquets, etc. I love flowers and I wish I could be a florist.

10. I love volunteering with Habitat For Humanity.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Coming to you live from the Center For The Arts studio...

2011-04-04T02:55:00.000-05:00

I find myself blogging to you from Ashland University's Center For The Arts building at 3:40 A.M. because I am currently working on my mini-documentary on my Habitat For Humanity Spring Break trip for my field production class. I've been down here in the Avid Studio since 10:45 P.M. and have been surviving solely off of Cherry and Vanilla Coca-Cola. I don't usually drink soda, but due to the fact that I don't drink coffee, something has to keep me up!

The Center For The Arts building is home to the art, music, theater, journalism and broadcast departments here at Ashland University. It is also the unofficial home to the students in those departments as you can often find someone working on their art sculptures, jazz band music, or, in my case, a mini-documentary. It doesn't phase the 'CFA' or A & H' kids when they see each other wandering the halls or falling asleep on the couch outside the band room or the fact that the Safety Services know us all by name, since we have to call ahead to get into our perspective class rooms. (The Center For The Arts is formerly known as Arts and Humanities.) Oh, its 4 AM? I thought we were supposed to be here at 4 AM?

So here's to the next four years of this great college experience. I mean, what would college be if we actually slept?!

Besides, I'll sleep when I'm dead.

With Love,
Ashliegh

Miss Ohio Sweeps

2011-03-29T12:43:00.002-05:00

Although I did not win a sparkly ticket to Miss Ohio 2011, I am so happy for the girls who did. Priya (Miss Huron County), Ashley (Miss Buckeye State), Alyssa W.(Miss Willard), Alyssa P. (Miss Ohio River), Jenna (Miss Mohican Valley), and Alicia (Miss Heart of Ohio) deserved this opportunity and I am proud of each of them. I am so glad I was able to spend my whole day (8 am to 9 pm!) with a group of classy, intelligent, talented, beautiful, and just fabulous young women. A special shout out goes to miss Jessica for assuming the title of Miss Cuyahoga County. I'm so very happy that she gets to compete at Miss Ohio for the first time this summer. After all of the work she puts into her platform and preparation she definitely deserves this opportunity.

I will continue to compete in the Miss America Organization next season. Miss Cuyahoga County/Miss Greater Cleveland is set for July 16th, just four months away, and you can sure bet that I'm already preparing for next season.

After Sweeps, I got to thinking about my platform, "The Benefits of Volunteering." I love the idea of promoting how people aren't just benefiting their communities but also benefiting themselves when they volunteer; however, I do a lot of work with Habitat For Humanity and love the mission of this great organization. So I'm thinking about changing my platform to focus on Habitat, but I'm not sure about it yet.

What are your thoughts? Should I continue with the platform that I have, "The Benefits of Volunteering," which I do volunteer for various organizations quite a bit (American Cancer Society's Relay For Life, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospitals, Children's Miracle Network, Women's Cardiac Care, etc), or should I change it to focus on Habitat For Humanity, which I am Ashland University chapter's Off-Campus Fundraising Chair/Local Builds Chair and Collegiate Challenge Spring Break participant? Or even focusing on a different organization that I volunteer for, women's cardiac care, perhaps? All of these organizations I feel passionately about (I don't do something unless I do!), so it's hard for to to choose just one. What to do, what to do.

As for interview, I am starting to feel more comfortable in the interview room and talking to the judges, but I would really like to work on my interview skills before next season. As I said in my previous post, I'm ready to kick my pageant training up a notch. I'm ready to do what it takes to win. Better interview is where it starts, since it is often believed that the pageant is won in the interview room.

Now that the Miss Ohio 2011 Class is complete, I congratulate all of you on winning your perspective titles and wish each of you the best of luck during Miss Ohio Week!

With Love,
Aslhiegh Jarzenski

Swimsuit

Evening Gown during Sweeps 1

Introduction

On Stage Questions during Sweeps 1

Beautiful Contestants!

On Stage Questions Sweeps 2

Thank you to Ross Clark of Roark Studios for the beautiful pictures!

A March Update

2011-03-21T18:52:00.000-05:00

Well I'm back from spring break and getting ready to finish my first year as an Ashland University student. The rest of the semester is filled with mixers, Greek Week, Alpha Phi and Tau Kappa Epsilon formals, Relay For Life, Habitat For Humanity local builds, applying for summer jobs, and of course heaping amounts of papers and class projects.

Saturday is the last local preliminary for Miss Ohio 2011, the Miss Ohio Sweeps competition. 2 pageants. 6 crowns. 6 girls going to Miss Ohio. Will I be one of those lucky girls with a sparkly ticket to the Miss Ohio stage? I hope so, but I know win or lose, I will be back next season even stronger. It's amazing to see how much I've grown as a person in the short amount of time that I have been involved in the Miss America Organization and I hope to continue that growth until I age out, or am lucky enough to be crowned Miss Ohio. Win or lose, you can be sure to bet I will be working my butt off this summer (literally) in preparation for next season. New talent; better interview; killer body; to-die-for dress. I'm ready to kick it up a notch.

The past few weeks have been pretty crazy! Right before spring break, Alpha Phi held the seventh annual Mr. University Pageant. The event was tons of fun, with both faculty and students attending. I was selected to escort my boyfriend, who competed as Mr. Kappa Kappa Psi, a band honorary. Out of 26 contestants, he made the Top 5 and competed in personality in introduction, talent, and on-stage interview. He played a medley of songs on his trumpet for talent, and did very well with the on-stage interview. I was impressed. His answers were genuine and articulate. I would be dating the male pageant contender. Hahah

A few of the lovely escorts for Mr. University

(Katie, Candy, Me, Kara, Kim, and Nicole)

I spent my spring break in Columbus, Georgia building houses with Habitat For Humanity's Collegiate Challenge. I had a great time and it was such a rewarding experience. I traveled with 40 Ashland students and we met up with 250 students from schools across the country. All together we built 6 houses, two of which were built by the Ashland team.

Habitat For Humanity is such a great organization to give back to. I love their "hand up, not a hand out" philosophy. Through this philosophy, the organization inspires hope in its homeowners which inspires them to give back, get better jobs, and lead better lives.

The house when we arrived Monday morning

The Ashland Habitat for Humanity Team with one of our houses

With Love,

Ashliegh

Spring Break Can't Come Soon Enough!

2011-03-01T13:09:00.001-06:00

Spring Break is just a three short days away! This year, I will be travelling to Columbus, Georgia with Ashland University's Habitat For Humanity chapter and 250 other college students from around the country. During the trip 40 Ashland students will be building two houses from the ground up.

As many of you know, I've been hard at work fundraising for the trip as the Off Campus Fundraiser, but many of you don't know that I've been hard at work as the techie, too! (Never thought that word would be used to describe me, haha.) Make sure to check out our blog starting on Saturday for daily updates during the trip! I will be posting blog posts, video blogs, photos, and more here.

With Love,
Ashliegh

It's Slime Time!

2011-02-27T13:04:00.000-06:00

On Thursday, February 24th, I had my first mixer as the Alpha Phi social chair with the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity on campus! Our theme was Old Skool Nickelodeon Night complete with 90's nickelodeon shows, popular children's foods (mac n cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.), and of course, green slime (which turned out to be EPIC). The event was a huge success. We had a great turn out and everyone had fun!

Little Joni slimes her Big, Megan

A few TKE's sorority posing with ivy leaves

Afew APhi's doing the TKE Triangle

The group

With Love,

Ashliegh

Student Spotlight

2011-02-23T13:41:00.000-06:00

About two weeks ago I received an e-mail from The Collegian. The Collegian is Ashland University's student run newspaper. The editors at The Collegian office had found out about my pageants and wanted to write a feature article on me for the Student Spotlight section. As a fellow Journalism and Digital Media student, I decided to help them out. ;]

You can view the article on the Collegian's website here.

With Love,
Ashliegh

So much to do, so little time

2011-02-11T09:35:00.000-06:00

What a wild semester it has already been at Ashland University, and we're only in week 5! I've been hard at work with homework, planning mixers with fraternities and sororities and formal as the Alpha Phi Social Chair, raising money for Habitat For Humanity's Spring Break trip to Columbus, Georgia as one of the Fundraising Chairs, and working at the Convocation Center on top of managing my recently-become soap opera life.

Last weekend I represented Alpha Phi at the Emerging Greek Leaders Summit here at AU. It was such a great experience and I learned so many things about myself, such as the way I lead, how I can better work with different types of leaders, how I can confront my chapter with issues, and not just be honest with my chapter, but be honest with myself on those issues. It was a great experience and I'm very happy that my sisters chose me as one of the eight girls to attend this event.

Emerging Greek Leaders Summit, Chapter #6

(Myself, Brittany, Chrissy, Sam, Randa, Dan, Christ, Jeeves, Ginger)

The next few weeks I'll be busy with preparing for Miss Ohio Sweeps, Alpha Phi's Mr. University, Habitat for Humanity's Spring Break Trip, Alpha Phi mixers with Phi Kappa Psi and Tau Kappa Epsilon, Formals, and so much more.

With Love,

Ashliegh

There She Is.. The 2011 Miss America- Teresa Scanlan

2011-01-17T15:01:00.000-06:00

Seventeen year old Teresa Scanlan from Nebraska won the Miss America pageant and a $50,000 scholarship on Saturday, January 15th! I am very excited to see what she does during her year of service as Miss America.

Talent and Swimsuit

Top 5

Miss America 2011- Miss Nebraska- Teresa Scanlan

1st Runner Up- Miss Arkansas - Alyse Eady

2nd Runner Up - Miss Hawaii - Jalee Fuselier

3rd Runner Up- Miss Washington - Jacquie Brown

4th Runner Up- Miss Oklahoma - Emoly Wes

Teresa's post-crowning press conference

With Love,

Ashliegh

Ohio Fair's Queen Pageant

2011-01-10T09:39:00.000-06:00

Last week my best friend, Haley Bittaker, competed for the title of Ohio Fair's Queen and represented the Summit County Fair. Her parents and her invited me to come to do her hair, makeup, and use a few of my dresses. It was very different for me to be watching a pageant instead of competing in it, lol. I had a lot of fun getting to know a few of the other girls (they thought I was competing, haha). Out of 88 counties, 67 sent their queen to compete in interview, introduction, evening gown, and on-stage question. Although Haley didn't make the Top 15, she did a fantastic job representing Summit County!

Queen's Pizza Party

I haven't had much experience with round crowns before, so we had a fun time trying to figure out how to get it to stay on Haley's head.

Interview (featuring my local interview dress :p)

Evening Gown

All the redheads

(Misses: Jackson Co., Muskingum Co., Summit Co., and Mercer Co.)

Introduction

After the pageant

And now, I'm back at Ashland University and starting my second semester! This semester I will be taking: writing for the media, human communications, broadcast reporting, logic & computing, field production, and english composition 2.

Shortly after arriving on campus yesterday, I found out that I am going on the Habitat for Humanity Spring Break trip in Georgia! I'm VERY EXCITED about this opportunity to work with Habitat and meet more students who are as passionate about volunteerism as I am!

Here's to a great semester!

With Love,

Ashliegh

It's Miss America Week!

2011-01-08T15:33:00.000-06:00

Next Saturday, January 15th at 9pm, the 2011 Miss America will be crowned on ABC at 9pm! The Miss America pageant is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year!

The pageant began in 1921 as a bathing beauty contest to promote tourism after Labor Day in Atlantic City, New Jersey. 16 Year old Margaret Gorman was the first Miss America. You can learn more about the history of the Miss America pageant in this picture slideshow: http://www.capzles.com/#/f24033f8-197b-4833-acf2-978efaa85473

This year, 53 women will be competing for the title (50 states+Miss District of Columbia+Miss Virgin Islands+Miss Puerto Rico)

This past Thursday (January 6th) the contestants arrived in Las Vegas to begin the pageant festivities!

Arrival Ceremony video:

Contestants at Arrival Ceremony

Quality of Life Finalists

Misses: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Virginia

The Quality of Life Award was created in 1988.This award goes to the contestant who excels in community service and enhances the life of others through volunteering.

Contestants at the Barry Manilow Show

Misses: Florida, New Jersey, Michigan, Texas, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and Ohio were selected for On The Red Carpet interviews: http://www.ontheredcarpet.com/Miss-America/111?tag=miss-america

My predictions in no specific order:

1 Ohio

2 Virginia

3 Oklahoma

4 Georgia

5 Delaware

6 Washington

7 DC

8 New Jersey

9 California

10 New York

11 North Carolina

12 Hawaii

13 Florida

14 Pennsylvania

15 Texas

Bubblers: Minnesota, Michigan, Puerto Rico

Sentimental Favorites: Ohio and Vermont

Make sure to tune in at 9pm on ABC and watch the 90th Anniversary of the Miss America Pageant!!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Hello 2011!

2011-01-03T02:54:00.000-06:00

Another year gone and another year has just begun! 2010 was a great year! I traveled all over Ohio to various festivals as the 2009 Olde Canal Days Queen, passed on my title, met my Grandma Roni, traveled to Oklahoma, went to college, started competing in Miss Amercica Locals, and have made so many new friends who have truly blessed my life.

My three goals for my first semester at college were 1)Lose five pounds, 2)join a sorority, and 3) make the Dean's List. I am proud to say I accomplished all three of those goals!

People usually make one or two new year's resolutions, but as you all know me, I'm quite the overachiever. Haha. For the past few years, I've made lists of fun and crazy things to do during that year. In 2009, it was the 365 Things To Do and in 2010 I lowered it to 100 Things To Do. So this year, I am yet again lowering the number.

I now present you with the 10 Things To Do In 2011!

1. Compete at Miss Ohio 2011 OR Win a local title to compete at Miss Ohio 2012. (Scholarship, Fun)
2. Make the Dean's List. Again. :] (Scholarship)
3. Lose 5 pounds. (Fitness)
4. Do at least 200 hours of community service. (Service)
5. Be the best Director of Chapter Events *Alpha Phi!* and Off-Campus Fundraising Chair *Habitat For Humanity!* I can be. (Leadership)
6. Run a 5K. (Fitness)
7. Visit a state I haven't visited yet. (Fun)
8. Commit a conscious act of kindness everyday. (Service)
9. Open a savings account. (Financial)
10. Get involved with Ashland's Collegian or WRDL 88.9, or both! And continue my involvement with TV2. (Career)

So here's to another great year!

With Love,
Ashliegh

Oklahoma, Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plains...

2010-12-18T14:01:00.000-06:00

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the great state of Oklahoma and my Grandma Roni! The trip was a blast and it was also my first time riding an airplane. While in Oklahoma City, we watched the Nutcracker Ballet, Oliver The Musical, went ice skating, shopping, and had some great food (French, Italian, and Cheesecake Factory!) I had so much fun getting to know my Grandma Roni better and meeting my cousin/aunt Caitlin (it's a long story, haha.)

Here are a few pictures from the trip!

Grandma Roni, Caitlin, and I before the Nutcracker

Caitlin and I with our mini nutcrackers

Caitlin, Santa, and I before Oliver The Musical

Grandma Roni and I

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Miss America 2011 Judges!

2010-12-08T15:25:00.001-06:00

From the Field of Interview – Joy Behar (host of The View)

From the Field of Community Service/Instrumental Talent - Miss America 1990 Dr. Debbye Turner Bell (former Miss America!)

From the Field of Star Power – Marc Cherry (Executive Producer of ABC's Desperate Housewives)

From the Field of Fitness/Dance – Tony Dovolani (Dancing with the Stars)

From the Field of Health and Beauty - Marilu Henner (actress, author, fitness/nutrition guru)

From the Field of Fashion – Taryn Rose (shoe designer)

From the Field of Vocal Talent – Mark Wills (country music star)

Miss Mansfield & Miss North Central

2010-12-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I competed at the Miss Mansfield pageant! I had a blast getting to know all the girls competing! They are all beautiful, intelligent, and talented young women. Congrats to Courtney and Ashley on their new titles and I wish them the best of luck at Miss Ohio is June! Here are some beautiful photos from the pageant thanks to Ross Clark!!

Courtney Crain, Morgan Kindred, and Ashley Worholic

Opening Number

On Stage Question with Miss Ohio 2006, Melanie Murphy

Swimwear

Talent

Black and Gold - Sam Sparro

Not a huge fan of this costume, but it worked

Evening Gown

Thank you to my dear friend Erin for letting me borrow her prom dress :]

With Love,

Ashliegh

The Benefits of Volunteering

2010-12-02T22:20:00.000-06:00

Many people chose to volunteer because they want to give back to their communities. What they don't know is that they aren't just benefiting their communities and those that they help. Through volunteering, people also benefit for themselves.

The benefits one might reap through volunteering include, but are not limited to:

developing a new skill
building confidence through accomplishing something worthwhile
boosting one's career options and resume (73% of employers would recruit a candidate with volunteer experience over one without!)
expanding interpersonal skills (motivating others, understanding people better, dealing with difficult situations, etc)
enhancing communication skills
building teamwork skills
fostering goals
and so much more!

In a world where it's all about oneself, by telling others how they can benefit through volunteering, the world's volunteer base can expand greatly!

One person truly can make a difference in the world. When others see one volunteer, the volunteer inspires others to volunteer, also!

So get out there and volunteer!

With Love,

Ashliegh

Coming to you from Canal Fulton..

2010-11-24T00:12:00.000-06:00

I'm finally home in Canal Fulton for Thanksgiving break with only 7 school days left in the semester. My time at Ashland University has been amazing thus far. I've made so many new friends, met so many people, and have become a part of so many awesome activities. I've joined the Alpha Phi Sorority, Habitat For Humanity Team, TV2, and Homecoming Committee. I'm currently running for a position as Director of Philanthropy for Alpha Phi and Habitat For Humanity's Marketing and Communications Chair. Earlier this semester, I ran for Class President and lost, but I had fun with it and it was a great way to meet new people. Next semester I will be working with Colleges Against Cancer as a Relay For Life Team Captain! I'm very excited for the multiple leadership opportunities that have come my way.

I've also been able to jump right in with my Broadcast Communications major and work with the Ashland's TV2. I anchored multiple times this semester for the news broadcast and helped with behind the scenes work for the sports broadcasts, while also being able to go out and shoot footage for the shows.

So as you can tell, I love Ashland University!!

Also with finals right around the corner is the Miss Mansfield/North Central Pageant! I've been working hard on my interview skills (anchoring for TV2 has helped!) and changed my talent song to Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold" (it's fierce). I'm very excited to be competing with my Alpha Phi sister, Ashley Warholic, and Ashland Greek Life sister and floor mate, Becca Ribley!

Thats all for now!

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

With Love,
Ashliegh Jarzenski

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T17:21:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween everyone! Have fun trick-or-treating!

Anyways, here's an October Update..

To kick off the month of October, Alpha Phi had a date party event where all the sisters invited their boyfriends or friends to a hayride and bonfire event! I invited my room mate, Eryn, to be my "date". The event was tons of fun, even if the hayride wasn't scary. lol

Me, Marker, and Eryn

On October 16th, my family celebrated my dad's 40th birthday by throwing a surprise party for him! We invited many friends, family, and people over to celebrate! The event turned out to be a success and dad had no idea the party was planned!

Last weekend I carved pumpkins with my Alpha Phi sisters, went and saw Ashland University's production Of Mice and Men, and went on a hayride with Sean and his entire family.

About in the middle of the month, I received a "Big." Which pretty much means that I got a "big sister" in Alpha Phi. Woot! This is Lauren, my Big...

Today, October 30th, I was initiated into the Alpha Phi Fraternity. This morning was the ceremony, where the new members learned many of the Alpha Phi secrets. After the ceremony, we all went to the Silver and Bordeaux Banquet where we were surprised by our family members! My mom and grandma came all the way out to Ashland to congratulate my initiation into Alpha Phi!

November will be filled with the Alpha Phi Red Dress Gala, St. Jude's Letter Writing Party to raise awareness of the St. Jude's Hospital, registering for classes, preparing for the winter pageant season, making Christmas gifts, and Thanksgiving festivities.

That's all for your October update!

With Love,

Ashliegh

A September Update

2010-09-28T12:32:00.000-05:00

The past month has been crazy to say the least. Here is a small recap.

On September 5th, I attended the Early American Days Festival held in Killbuck, Ohio. My best queen friend, Samantha, gave up her title as Early American Days Queen. I had a lot of fun travelling to the festival with the current Olde Canal Days Queen's Court, also.

Samantha and I <3

Soon after the festival, I went through Sorority Recruitment, and in the end, joined Alpha Phi! I love my new sisters! They are all wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, and talented young women.

New Member Class- Bid Day!

Night One of Recruitment

Pictured with my floor mates: Frankie, Joni, and Eryn

Night Two of Recruitment

Again with Frankie, Joni, and Eryn

Night Three of Recruitment (Note Beauty Queen Stance :p)

Joni and Frankie

Night Four of Recruitment

Becca and Joni

This past weekend, my new sisters, Lauren, Brittany, and Margaret (who I nicknamed "Marker") went up to Bay Village and stayed at Lauren's house. We had fun going to her high school's football game, shopping, eating, and going to the Indian's game with her family!

Us after the game

Marker and I goofing off

I signed up to go on a Habitat for Humanity trip during spring break to Georgia, and I will be an anchor for TV2, Ashland University's channel! I'm very excited for these great opportunities!

I know I haven't made an appearance at any pageants lately, but I will be competing at Miss Mansfield on December 4th! I revised my platform a little bit, have a new talent routine, and hopefully will have a new dress! I've been working on interview skills, also.

That's all for now!

With Love,

Ashliegh

The College Life

2010-08-25T17:40:00.000-05:00

Last Friday, I started a new chapter in my life called COLLEGE!!!! And so far, I love it, even though I feel like all I do anymore is eat, walk up and down staircases, read, and eat. LOL The campus, the people, the food, the town, the dorms, the classes, it's all great. I was definitely ready to take on Ashland University. Yes, I do miss my family, friends, and Canal Fulton, but I adapt quickly and I think that is because of all the moving around to different schools and towns when I was younger.

This semester I am taking Understanding Politics, English Comp, Intro to Mass Communication, Media Tech, Through The Bible, and Accent On Success, the required freshman class. So far, I like all of them, but I'm really excited about my Media Tech class.

I plan on "going Greek" and join a sorority. Recruitment week is September 12-18th and I'm pretty excited for it! I also am going to get involved with Community Care, which is simply a large community service group and then all the students who join choose which team they will join. The teams are Hunger, Habitat for Humanity, Youth and Literacy, Crisis, Elderly, and many more. I hope to team up with Habitat and Literacy.

My 3 goals for this semester:

1. Academic- I want to make the Dean's List.

2. Social- I want to join a sorority.

3. Personal- I want to lose 5 pounds. (Nooo Freshman 15 here!)

Pictures of my half of my dorm.

With Love,

Ashliegh Jarzenski

Goodbye Canal Fulton, Hello Ashland!

2010-08-20T00:21:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow morning, I will be making the move from one small-town to an even smaller town. I will be leaving my home in Canal Fulton, where I have grown up for the past five years, and will be moving into a dorm room at Ashland University.This evening was 'The Last Hurrah' for the summer. Many of my friends and I got together at Heritage Park to hang out for the last time before we all go off to college. .

Through all the packing up my bedroom for the big move, many emotions have come about. Excitement. Sadness. Lonliness. Fear. Happiness. But I look them in the face and say "I have waited a whole year for this, and now, I am ready. Bring. It. On."

Twiggy, Audrey, and Grace <3

Above my bed

Farewell my beloved hometown.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Photoshoot!

2010-08-12T15:31:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, my Aunt Tara was in town and we went on a photoshoot around Canal Fulton. It was extremely hot out, but we had fun! If anything, the heat gave us an excuse to go get some ice cream at Oser's. Here are a few of the photos she took! Thank you, Tara! :]

And now my new headshot for pageants...

Now, I must go start packing up my room for college! That's right! I move out to Ashland University next Friday! More later.

With Love,

Ashliegh

Miss North Coast

2010-08-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, on Saturday, August 7th, I competed at the Miss North Coast Scholarship Pageant in Brunswick, Ohio. I would like to congratulate Chelsi Howman on becoming the 2011 Miss North Coast! I had a blast getting to know all of the other girls competing and I think I did okay in my interview this time. Of course, I am still working on my interview skills. I'm going to change my talent for the next pageant I do, I'm not going to tell what it is yet. :] I'm changing my talent from the "Higher Ground" jazz dance because I feel that the dance just isn't working for me, you know?

At Miss North Coast I also got to meet a few of the other local titleholders, the new Miss Crystal Lake, Shannon O'Neill, and Miss Mansfield, Heather Wells. Both of them were very nice and a pleaseure to meet and I hope to get to know them better throughout the next year/few years as I compete.

Anyways, on with the pictures.

Evening Gown

On-Stage Questions

Swimsuit

Talent

Contestants!

Brunswick Old Fashioned Days Girls!

I travelled with them during my Canal Days Reign so I was very happy to see some familiar faces in the crowd! Also, Amber, the OFD 2009 Queen was a helper backstage at North Coast!

The New Miss North Coast, Chelsi!

That's all for now, folks!

With Love,

Ashliegh

#21 and #24

2010-07-25T13:53:00.000-05:00

#21. Compete in a Miss America Preliminary.

On Saturday, July 24th, I competed in the Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Pageant. As many of you know, I have spent the past year building my interview skills, public speaking skills, working on my dance, working out, and studying various facts about Ohio, the senators, the representatives, the governor, the mayors, and current events. I carry a ziploc bag that holds about 500 index cards that have various interview questions on them front and back. As I walked into my interview with the judges, I saw all the things I worked so hard to improve walk right past me and out the door they went. I became what I worked so hard not to be- a hot mess.

After my interview that was filled with questions such as "what's the state bird?", "how do you feel about the oil spill?" and what is your favorite vintage item that you have collected?" it was time to practice my talent. I went up onto the stage, my music started playing, and then...my mind went blank. Technique, gone. Routine, gone. Smile, gone. The dance that I have been working on for the past year, gone. Finally, after a mini-freakout in the bathroom and going through the dance 4 times, I remembered it.

Finally, we had dinner, and then on with the show! Introductions, swimsuit, talent (I did pretty darn good, minus the fact that My toe got stuck on some metal thing on the stage floor during my turns, ugh!), evening gown, and onstage question (which came out as "umm...blah blah blahh, ummm...repeat")

So overall, I thought I could have done 100% better, had I not been a nervous reck since the moment I woke up that morning. Will I continue competing in MAO Locals? Heck yes.

Now on with the photos.

Contestants with Sylvia and Harvey Jenson, and Miss Ohio 2010, Becky Minger

Miss Ohio Becky Minger (When Becky came back to the dressing rooms to say "Hi" to the other contestants, I was starstruck, no joke. Hahaha)

#24. Get my braces removed.

Not many people know this about me, but when I was a youngun' back in elementry school, I was bullied almost everyday because of the way my teeth were. Even now that my teeth are more straight than what they used to be, you can definitely tell I was not genetically gifted with a "beautiful smile".

After nineteen very long years, I can now smile confidently without a worry that people are judging my smile.

Before, during, and after braces photos.

(This is also for #39. Go Clubbing, which is one of the most interesting things I think I have done, haha. I'm just too prude for clubs, I think.)

That's all for now, folks!

With Love,

Ashliegh

National Hamburger Festival

2010-07-17T17:20:00.000-05:00

I just returned home from the 2010 National Hamburger Festival held in Akron, Ohio. I competed for National Hamburger Queen but I received 3rd Runner Up out of 13 girls, I'm happy with that! I also was able to help a few Kent State students/teachers with a documentary/article they were working on for the pageant!

Queen- Katy Schmid
1st Runner Up- Brianne Campbell
2nd Runner Up- Marisa Zink
3rd Runner Up- Ashliegh Jarzenski
4th Runner Up- Kayla Miracle

Congrats to the girls that placed and I had a lovely time getting to know all the other contestants!

Now on to the photos!

Carli, Mandie, Me, Marisa, Nancy, and Megan promoting the pageant at Rock The Lock Night

Life Size Barbie

Contestants

Melissa Menches Clapper, also a former Olde Canal Days Queen! '88 and '09!

Now on to Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga County next weekend! Wish me luck!

With Love,

Ashliegh

It's over.

2010-07-12T23:37:00.000-05:00

Now that the 2010 Olde Canal Days Festival is over and things are starting to calm down at the house, I would like to reflect on some of my favorite memories from the year.

At the 2010 Festival, I crowned the new queen, Miss Jordan Mundell, I had my caricature done with both of my sisters, I rode on a hot air balloon, I met my Grandma Roni for the first time, and I hosted the FIRST Olde Canal Days Queen's Breakfast.

My Queen's Breakfast was held Saturday morning before the parade and I had 12 visiting Queen's attend! The event was a huge success and I would like to thank my parents, my court's parents, David Derry, and Sean C. for helping me put the event together.

So, now that I'm done being the Olde Canal Days Queen, what's next, you ask? Well, this upcoming weekend I am competing for the National Hamburger Queen, then the weekend after that I will be competing at Miss Greater Cleveland/Cuyahoga Co.! I have been waiting TWO YEARS to be able to compete in my first Miss America local, and let me tell you, I am ready. Also, I'm hoping to be the Queen's Breakfast Chairperson for the Olde Canal Days Festival. I would hate to see all my hard work of making that event happen go to waste.

And now, on to photos from the 2010 Festival.

a few of the beautiful contestants

"O" For Olde Canal Days!"- Emily from Geauga Co. Maple

Riding the hot air balloon with Sean <3

My Grandma Roni and I rode the Canal Boat with the new Queen and Court

Crowning Jordan!

That's all for now!

With Love,

Ashliegh

There she is...

2010-07-08T22:22:00.000-05:00

Your 2010 Olde Canal Days Queen is Miss Jordan Mundell. Her attendants are Tracey Foust and Amiee Jarzenski. The Olde Canal Days Junior Queen is Jenna Hutzell with Kimberly Zickefoose as her attendant.

All of the contestants did a wonderful job and are all truely beautiful inside and out.

My Farewell Speech

This past year as the 2009 Olde Canal Days Queen has been incredible. My court and I attended ten festivals, rode in seventeen parades, and logged over 160 hours of community service. I have had so much fun representing Canal Fulton.

I would like to thank Julie and Sara for offering this opportunity of a lifetime year after year to the girls. To my court and their families, thank you for the wonderful year. I have made so many memories that I will cherish forever and I hope each of you has also.

To my dad, thank you for building our awesome float and driving the other girls and I through the parades.
To my mom, thank you for helping me plan my Queen’s Breakfast and helping me get everything done this year. To the both of you, thank you for your never ending love and support. This year would have been nothing without you two. Thank you.

To the new queen and court, make the most of your year, it goes by so quickly. Remember, the crown is just a keepsake until it is brought to life by the girl wearing it. Wear it proudly.

As I move on to be a Miss America Hopeful, I will never forget where it all began. Right here, on this stage, in Canal Fulton, Ohio. It has been an honor to represent you. For the last time, I am Ashliegh Jarzenski, your 2009 Olde Canal Days Queen. Thank you.

With Love,
Ashliegh

Happy 19th Birthday to Me!

2010-06-30T23:51:00.000-05:00

It is July First. Which can only mean one thing.

It's my birthday!

How am I spending my special day?

By picking up my dry cleaning, weeding the yard, working on crown boxes, and working on the Olde Canal Days pageant dance with the contestants.

Heck yes!

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Brunswick Old Fashioned Days

2010-06-27T20:05:00.000-05:00

This morning, Madison, Jenna, Madison's mother, my parents, and I travelled to Brunswick for their Old Fashioned Days festival. This was our last festival before we crown the next queen and court. *Sigh* I had so much fun with all my queen friends and I'm going to miss traveling with them.

All of the Visiting Royalty

Our table <3 minus Sam

As of today, there are 10 days til the 2010 Olde Canal Days Festival. It's crunch time. I have crown boxes to make, gifts to buy, favors to make, scrapbooking, and sooo much to do for my breakfast.

On top of that, there is 20 days til I compete for Miss National Hamburger and 27 days til Miss Greater Cleveland.

This week I am volunteering for the Echoing Ridge Summer Camp held at Clay's Park with the REACH Team. The camp is for disabled/elderly. I'm very excited to assist with all the activities they have planned!

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Pageant Interview Tips

2010-06-24T21:29:00.001-05:00

With Olde Canal Days Festival pageant interviews and the meet & greet tomorrow evening, I thought I would share some valuable interview advice for the contestants!

Meet and Greet:

-Good posture at all times.
-Do not stand with your arms crossed. It comes off as standoffish.
-Don't hog the judges. Let other contestants in on the conversation by telling them what you were discussing with the judge and asking for their opinion on the subject. (This shows the judge that you are comfortable with people ;] )
-If the judges have you in mind, they will ALWAYS be watching you. So always have a smile on, be kind and courteous to all, and for gosh sake, stand up straight!

Interview:

-Walk in confidently. Walk out confidently.
-How to Sit: Do not let your back touch the back of the chair. Good posture! Cross your legs at the ankles, NOT the knee. Hands should be folded in your lap.
-Make eye contact with each judge!
-55% of communicating is through body language. When you fidget, play with your hair, fingers, jewelry, etc. it shows that you are nervous!
-Don't be afraid of the judges. They are normal people just like you and me.

A Few Practice Questions:

-What do you think your responsibilities will be if you are crowned Olde Canal Days Queen?
-Why did you chose to run for the title of Olde Canal Days Queen?
-What activities do you look forward to during your reign, if you are chosen as the new queen?
-What are your goals for the future?

And my last piece of advice for the contestants: "Be the crown...you are the crown" (Miss Congeniality)

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

P.S. A crown is just a keepsake until it is brought to life by the titleholder and her services to others.

Dance, Panama, and Miss Ohio

2010-06-20T21:08:00.000-05:00

"Fame" "The Way We Were"

My last dance recital was this past Friday (June 18th). I danced in 8 acts and had some pretty quick costume changes (TWO MINUTES, WHATT!?) I had a very good time sharing the stage with my dance friends and I will miss them all. Good luck to Jenny, Elizabeth, and Kelsey at college and to Tiffany as she moves to New York.

My numbers:

Tap: Throughly Modern Milly, Smooth Criminal

Jazz: Fame, Flashdance

Hip-Hop: Yeah!, Kung Fu Fighting

Ballet/Pointe: Send in the Clowns

Lyrical: The Way We Were

After recital was over, my parents, Sean, Megan, Natalie, Garrett, Haley, and I went out for dinner at T.G.I. Fridays where we heard Valn Halen's "Panama" one too many times thanks to one of the waiters.

Congrats to the new Miss Ohio 2010, Becky Minger, and Miss Ohio's Outstanding Teen 2010, Cecili Weber. Cecili was crowned on June 15th; Becky was crowned on June 19th. Becky is also the winner of a preliminary swimsuit award.

11 Days til my 19th birthday and 18 days until I crown the 2010 Olde Canal Days Queen.

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Canal Fulton Library Summer Kick-Off

2010-06-09T15:46:00.002-05:00

Today, the Canal Fulton Library hosted the Summer Kick-Off Party and Taste of Canal Fulton. Rachel, Clarissa, and I strolled through the library and greeted the many children and their parents as they came through the library enjoying the food, crafts, games, and of course, the books! It was great to see so many young kids excited about reading!

Rachel and I with future Canal Days Queens :p

A huge sandcastle that someone built in the library's lawn

Rachel and I

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Deercreek Dam Days

2010-06-05T23:44:00.001-05:00

The 40th Anniversary of the Deercreek Dam Days Festival was held today in Chilicothe & Williamsport, Ohio. I had so much fun visiting with my queen friends and making many new friends. Congratulations to Amie on becoming the 2010 Deercreek Dam Days Queen and good luck to Elizabeth, the 2009 Deercreek Dam Days Queen, as you compete for Miss Commercial Point Homecoming.

My mom and I started our three hour journey to Chilicothe at 7:30 a.m. this morning. On our way there, we stopped at a gas station to get gas. I look over at the car next to us, and Santa Claus was sitting in the front seat. I kid you not. The white beard and Christmas clothes and all. Yes, it's the beginning of June. I think Santa is confused. Hahah.

We finally arrive at the festival queen's luncheon at 11:15 a.m. I sat with the Jackson Co. Apple Festival Court, Jackson Co. Fair Queen Kelsey, Alliance Carnation Festival Queen Lauren and Julie, Ohio Hills Folk Queen Kiki, and Holmes Co. Antique Festival Queen Autumn. We all had a lot of fun learning about the other girls' festivals, pageant requirements, and other things about them. The luncheon included lunch, doorprizes, a mini fashion show, and Uniquely Yours dresses.

After the luncheon we all headed up to the festival grounds, introduced ourselves onstage and had some free time to do whatever. I hung out with Beth, Autumn, Morgan, Kiki, Lydia, and Kelsey. We had a lot of fun riding some of the rides and playing the games. After that, we all hoped on our floats and cars and started the parade.

I realized today I only have one month left as the Olde Canal Days Queen. It has been an honour serving the city of Canal Fulton and the Olde Canal Days Festival this past year. I have met so many wonderful people and have made so many memories that I will cherish forever.

I don't want to give up my crown :[

Anyways, enough of that. Here are some pictures from todays festivities.

All the visiting royalty after the luncheon

My new friends! Kiki & Lydia!

Autumn & I

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

P.S. This is my 50th post! Go me! Lol

Thank You, Decia Beck Photography

2010-06-04T20:43:00.000-05:00

Photo Compliments of Decia Beck Photography

Thank you, Decia Beck, for sponsoring my pageant headshots! They are lovely!

Decia does a wonderful job. She also exhibits patience and interest in what you want to achieve with your photos. Visit http://www.beck-images.com/ for more information and how to contact Decia.

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

NW Graduation & A Visit From Congressman Boccieri

2010-06-03T17:51:00.000-05:00

This afternoon, Congressman Boccieri stopped in for a visit at the weekly Reach meeting. He took pictures with each member and answered all the questions we had for him. He talked about how he got his start in politics and the importance giving back to our communities. He also spoke about how becoming a leader and role model for our generation and younger generations is important.

Thank you Congressman Boccieri for taking the time out of your schedule to meet with Reach!

Mr. Boccieri and I with my Special Congressional Recognition Award for my service to my community with Reach

Reach Members with Congressman Boccieri

Boccieri talking to Reach members about the importance of giving back to our community and becoming leaders of our generation

------------------

On Saturday, May 29th, the Northwest Class of 2010 graduated. I have many friends in the Class of 2010 that I have known since they were freshman. To see them graduate was just, well...weird. I watched them grow to be the exceptional young men and women that they are today. I helped them though breakups, and studying for exams. I watched them succeed in their accomplishments, whether it was making the majorette team or getting first chair in their section in band or acing the big test. I was with them for the good, the bad, and the ugly moments in time. I have many memories with the class of 2010 and I will never forget any of them. Congrats to the 2010 Class and good luck with all that you do in your futures.

My best friend, Haley, and I at her Graduation

Afew of my favorite grads

Haley, Me, Justin, and Rachel

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Miss America Pageant Has A New Home!!

2010-05-24T23:03:00.000-05:00

It was announced earlier today that the Miss America Organization has a new home, the ABC Network!!

Official Press Release:

THE MISS AMERICA ORGANIZATION

CELEBRATES ITS 90th ANNIVERSARY
& RETURNS TO THE ABC NETWORK!

MULTI-YEAR DEAL ANNOUNCED
FOR TELECAST RIGHTS TO
“THE 2011 MISS AMERICA PAGEANT”
First Pageant To Air On ABC In January 2011

Linwood, NJ – May 24, 2010 - The Miss America Organization (MAO) is proud to announce it has reached a multi-year deal with the ABC Television Network to return as their network television partner for the 2011 Miss America Pageant that will be presented on January 15, 2011! The news was announced today by Sam Haskell, III, Board Chairman for the Miss America Organization and MAO President & CEO, Art McMaster. ABC aired the Miss America Pageant previously in 2004 and will once again retain the exclusive telecast rights through 2013.

"After thorough discussions and negotiations, we are confident that Miss America has reunited with the perfect network partner, ABC, which shares many of our same ideals and tradition," said Haskell. "Miss America's move back to network television is perfect timing as we celebrate our special 90th anniversary and look ahead to reach new heights and create a new path for the future of Miss America. Our brand is so rich in both philanthropy and history, and this new multi-year partnership will not only preserve this great institution, but it will also mark a new milestone in television with our friends at ABC."

“We’re thrilled to have the Miss America pageant back on ABC and for the opportunity to be a part of this historic tradition,” said Vicki Dummer and John Saade, Senior Vice Presidents, Alternative Series, Specials and Late-Night, ABC Entertainment Group. “We look forward to working with the Miss America Organization for years to come.”

Art McMaster, President and CEO for Miss America Organization stated, “MAO will maintain and oversee the creative direction of the pageant with the addition of the award winning production company, Tall Pony Productions with Anthony Eaton and Lauren Harris as the Executive Producers. McMaster added, “’Miss America is one of this country’s great enduring institutions, and creatively we are introducing new ways to honor the pageant’s rich tradition, while also producing a spectacular show that will offer true entertainment appeal to ABC’s viewers.”

Last year, the Miss America pageant telecast experienced new record growth, with its highest-ever ratings on cable television, and is now perfectly positioned to surpass that record with ABC on network television.

MAO proudly acknowledges Mark Pedowitz of Pinestreet Entertainment, John Ferriter of Octagon Entertainment, and Billy Goldberg and Kevin Kroos of The Buckeye Group for their efforts on this television partnership. Tall Pony Productions and the Miss America Organization are represented by Octagon Entertainment.

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4209830/miss-americas-miracle-mission

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Phenomenal Woman

2010-05-22T20:55:00.000-05:00

While at the Dennison Railroad Festival today, Shal'eka, the 2009 Dennison 1st Attendant, gave a speech inspired by Maya Angelou's poem, Phenomenal Woman. She spoke of how women shouldn't need to hide behind makeup and fake tans. Her speech was very thought-provoking and brought many of us to tears, I'm sure.

Ohio's weather was quite bipolar today. When my mom, dad, and I left Canal Fulton this morning it was pouring down rain. When we arrived in Dennison, it was humid, sunny, and hot! During the parade, it started downpouring again.

The festival was quite entertaining, probably one of the craziest and one of my favorites for sure. We toured the Railroad Depot, my dad "broke into" the Bilzzard's car, the weather was nuts, the luncheon was emotional, and a drunken man had the parade stopped for a good 3 minutes.

That is all for now!

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

-Phenomenal Woman-
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

-Maya Angelou-

Liver Foundation Walk @ Cleveland Zoo

2010-05-18T12:55:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday, The REACH gang participated in the Liver Foundation Walk held at the Cleveland Zoo. The Foundation raised over $81,000 for research and promoting awareness of liver diseases.

While at the Cleveland Zoo, I had the opportunity to ride a camel!

I have been very busy recently preparing for the 2010 Olde Canal Days Festival. This year, I have planned my festival's first Visiting Queens Breakfast. I will be inviting all of my queen friends that I have made this year and I am very excited for this event!

Along with Canal Days preparations, I have also been busy with preparing for Miss America local preliminaries. My first local will be Miss Greater Cleveland on July 24th. I recently bought a new evening gown and swimsuit that I love. To prepare for swimsuit, I have taken up running, something I didn't think I would enjoy as much as I do now. My talent routine will be a jazz dance and it is FIERCE. I'm very excited to start competing!

That's about all for now!

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Happy Mother's Day!

2010-05-09T12:11:00.000-05:00

Mom, I appreciate you for everything you have ever done for me. Thank you for always supporting, caring, loving, and always being there for me. I love you.

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Help me make miracles happen!

2010-05-05T23:06:00.001-05:00

I'm getting ready to compete in the Miss America pageant. As a contestant, I need your help to raise money for Children's Miracle Network and the Miss America Scholarship Fund. Please help me reach my goal of $400.00 by clicking on the link below. Your donation will be considered a charitable donation for tax purposes and a receipt will be provided at the end of the year.

https://www.missamerica4kids.org/m.aspx?i=16778FA+6187AD57A&e=7882

Once you have completed a secure on-line donation, your donation will be included in my fund raising total on my personal page. To help even further you can forward this message on to other friends and family to help me in my fund raising efforts. My personal page will track my results and provide a comparison to other contestants.

This year the Miss America Organization has teamed up with Children's Miracle Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to saving and improving the lives of children by raising funds for children's hospitals. This new partnership gives each contestant the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for two great organizations - Miss America Organization and Children's Miracle Network.

Your donation will be very appreciated whether it be $100 or 50 cents. Every little bit counts and the money goes to a great cause!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me!

Thank you for your support!

With Love,
Ashliegh
2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

#26

2010-05-03T23:42:00.000-05:00

#26. See a professional sports game.

This past Saturday, I attended my first Cleveland Indian's game with Sean, Joe, Sean's family, and his older sister's friends (it was her birthday). The Indian's won and I had a pretty good time! Not only did the Indians win, but the Cleveland Cavaliers did also! It was a pretty great night to be a Cleveland fan. : P

Sean & I

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen

Maple Stirs, Ducks, and Jazz, Oh My!

2010-04-25T20:59:00.001-05:00

"The Kennel" Cleveland Browns Bus

Katelyn and I before the parade

Katelyn and I at the Geauga Co. Maple Festival

This past weekend my Jr. 2nd Attendant, Katelyn, and I attend the Geauga County Maple Festival held in Chardon, Ohio. I was able to visit with my beautiful festival queen friends and made so many new ones! Alhough I LOVE traveling with all five of my court girls, I really enjoyed traveling with just Katelyn. I was able to really focus on getting to know the other visiting royalty and making friends instead of constantly making sure my girls were having fun and meeting people too. After the parade we met up with my lovely mother and Sean. We walked around the festival, enjoyed 'maple stirs' and even got to hold a duck!

Me at the dance competition

Today I competed in my very first dance competition. My studio's advanced jazz class has been working on our recital routine to Sam Sparro's "Black and Gold" and we took it to competition. Although I don't know the scores yet, I think we did very well and I'm proud of all the girls and their hard work to make our routine as good as we could get.

Its been a super busy and fun-filled weekend and now, I am worn out. I'm off to catch up on my ZZ's.

With Love,

Ashliegh

2009 Olde Canal Days Queen