Miss White Oak/Mountain City

Congratulations to our new titleholders,  Miss White Oak- Kendall Arielle, Miss Mountain City- Mae Anderson, and our new outstanding teens, Miss Mountain City OT- Lakyn Barnard and Miss White Oak OT- Arianne Goolsby! Hannah Brewer Dell had wonderful vocal performances, as well! Great job to all the girls who competed! 

Miss Urbana/Germantown/Gaithersburg

After a long day at the B'More Healthy Expo in downtown Baltimore, I rushed down to Ijamsville, MD just in time to make the Miss Urbana, Miss Germantown, and Miss Gaithersburg pageant at Urbana Middle School! It was wonderful to see my fellow queens and welcome in three new girls to the Miss Maryland Class of 2012! Scott and Bonnie Durham did a wonderful job organizing the event and directing the program. Everyone, titleholders and contestants alike, looked stunning! 

Attending Miss and Teen titleholders.

Congratulations to the new Miss Urbana- Lauren Kozlosky, Miss Germantown- Jessica Bermudez, Miss Gaithersburg- Victoria Simpson, and our new Outstanding Teens, Destiny Pratt, Anna Abelman, and Abby Hopkins! Enjoy your journey through the Miss America system and I am looking forward to our time together during Miss Maryland week! 

Attending Misses with the our three new titleholders (located in Center).

B'More Healthy Expo

While Saturday may have seen its fair share of green for St. Patrick's Day, thousands of Marylanders and I had the opportunity to "be green" in a different way! Fox 45's B'More Healthy Expo, held at the Baltimore Convention Center on March 17, 2012, highlighted organizations within the region who not only encourage a healthy lifestyle, but also go out of their way to involve and educate the community about green living. From performances by fitness and dance programs, such as the University of Maryland, College Park's gymnastics troupe Gymkana, to cooking demonstrations, and even to on-site HIV/AIDS testing by JACQUES Initiative, the expo illustrated that healthful living is not simply dieting or spending hours in the gym. In fact, being physically healthy is just as important as being financially, spiritually, and mentally healthy! By connecting individuals with specific resources in their community, the expo displayed a side of the health world rarely seen: it can be fun AND accessible! 

A few of the organizations caught my eye and I am excited to work with them in the future! Special thanks to Arbonne Cosmetics (http://www.arbonne.com/index.asp?lang=eng) for the free facial package! I am looking forward to using it with some of my fellow Miss Maryland contestants! 

For more information about this year's B'More Healthy Expo, visit: http://bmorehealthyexpo.com/ 

Pageant Day! Crowned as Miss Free State!

Wow! Let me begin by saying that it is such an honor to be awarded the title of Miss Free State. I cannot wait to get involved with my platform, Building Stronger Communities: Preserving Culture and Appreciating Diversity, and the Children's Miracle Network (CMN)! It seems that with the Miss Maryland Organization the possibilities are truly endless for what you can achieve. There have been wonderful directors and young women leading by example, illustrating the incredible work a titleholder can do if she applies herself.

It has been a blessing to have competed with these ladies at Miss Western Maryland/Miss Washington County, Miss Allegany County/Miss Cumberland, and, most recently, Miss Free State/Baltimore/Potomac. I could not have imagined a better pageant experience and I am so thankful to all those who supported me in my preparation for the long journey I am about to embark on. My next destination? Miss Maryland!

This adventure officially began on March 10, 2012 with my crowning as Miss Free State. I think this deserves another Wow! I am so blessed to have been given this opportunity and am excited for the year ahead. I cannot wait to get out in the community, work on my platform, raise money for CMN!

If you, or anyone else, would like to book an appearance, sponsor an ad for the Miss Maryland program booklet, or sponsor me, please do not hesitate to email me at hawkins4@umbc.edu!
Additionally, I encourage everyone to donate to the CMN online at http://www.missamericaforkids.org/Donate/276681961BCC799A5. Every little bit helps!

I hope you continue to follow my blog as I journal about this upcoming year and my experiences as Miss Free State. I am so very excited!

Hearing my name called as Miss Free State. I couldn't believe it! 

Swimsuit Competition! I'm in the red bikini!

A congratulatory hug from my little sister. I could not have made it this far without help from her and my mom! Love you both!

A final shot of me with my sister queens!