NYSSMA Solo Festival

   On April 20, I participated in my ninth New York State Solo Music Association (NYSSMA) solo. At NYSSMA, students in grades K-11 perform a solo piece (for whichever instrument they play) so that they may be adjudicated by a professional musician. NYSSMA is also the first step to participating in festivals such as HMEA (Hampton Music Educator's Association), SCMEA (Suffolk County Music Educator's Association), and All State Festivals.

   Even though this was my ninth NYSSMA solo, this was my first time performing for an adjudicator in the hopes that I would be selected for All State. To participate in All State, both your solo and sight reading scores must be close to perfect. 

   I sang a level VI piece called Les Berceaux, composed by Gabriel Fauré. If you've never participated in NYSSMA, level VI is the highest, and most difficult, level offered at the festival. And for those of you who know me personally, know I don't speak French. But the journey to NYSSMA was interesting to say the least, considering I was singing a difficult piece in a language I have never spoken before. Even though there was some pressure to do well in order to go to All State, I went into my adjudication ready to do my best and have fun, because essentially, that is what NYSSMA is all about. 

   I would love to thank my choir director, Mr. Tartaglia for pushing me to do NYSSMA this year. I almost didn't participate this year because of a busy schedule, but I am glad I did. Next I need to thank the wonderful Peter Ludlow, who accompanied me as I sang for the adjudicator. And of course, thank you to my parents for giving me wonderful opportunities, such as NYSSMA, and for always believing in me.

   I wish nothing but good luck to all students who are participating in NYSSMA this weekend. I hope that you receive a high score that will take you to a festival such as SCMEA, HMEA, or All State!

XOXO

Sarah

New York State Lobby Day 2013

   On Tuesday, April 15, I was honored to participate in the American Heart Association's New York State Lobby Day in Albany. I started off the day with other advocates at a small session teaching us how to communicate with lawmakers effectively. We also reviewed our "asks" for the day: asking law makers to support the CPR in School Bill (making it mandatory for students to learn CPR as a graduation requirement), and asking lawmakers to support a Pulse Ox Bill (making it mandatory for all newborns to be screened for heart defects using a pulse ox).

   Afterwards, I headed over the the official Hands Only CPR station, where I volunteered to teach people walking by Hands Only CPR. Michele, the woman in charge of the station was so nice, and I had a great time taking an hour from my day to teach people CPR.

Teaching Hands Only CPR to people!

   After teaching CPR, I went straight to my first meeting. I first met with Lisa Lombardo, who was a staff member in Assemblyman Thiele's office. The meeting went well, and I even gave her the link to my Southampton High School CPR video, which you can see here. Later, I met with Senator LaValle who I was thrilled to hear supported both bills one hundred percent! After our meeting, I even got to discuss school and my plans for the future with him! He was such a nice man! Next, I met off the floor with Assemblyman McDonough and I got some good vibes from him! My last meeting of the day was with a staff member of Senator Martins, and it seemed to be a positive meeting!

With Senator LaValle after my meeting with him!

In front of the Lobby Day sign!

   I had such a great time at the Lobby Day! I would like to thank Julie Hart and Robin Vitale for inviting me to take part in a day dedicated to raising awareness and making a difference. I also want to thank Jessica DiMeo who attended all of the meetings with my mom and me. She was wonderful company and helped us so much! Lastly, thank you to my mom who drove me to Albany and allowed me to take part in Lobby Day. Soon, I'll be able to drive myself! :)

XOXO

Sarah

Festival Disney and My Birthday!

   For the past year, my school's mixed choir has worked super hard to fly down to Walt Disney World and participate in Festival Disney. From April 12 to April 14 we were able to do just that. As part of the festival, over 50 schools from all over the country perform for adjudicators who are professional musicians. All eighteen members of the Southampton High School Mixed Choir were thrilled to be apart of the special Festival Disney event.

We took a quick picture after arriving at Orlando International Airport! Our wonderful director, Mr. Tartaglia, is in the middle in the front of the group!

   On April 12, we spent the majority of the day at Disney's EPCOT park and had some fun before our adjudication at 7:00pm. After our adjudication, we were critiqued by one of the adjudicators as part of our experience at Festival Disney. She had some great things to say, and we left the adjudication with valuable lessons and the knowledge that we did our very best. Click here to see some videos of our performance!

At EPCOT with some of my friends, Kaley, Madison, Johanna, and Emily!

How many girls can you fit into a phone booth? Six! We took this picture in the World Showcase in England!

My wonderful friends and I! (From left to right) Emily, Johanna, Me, Madison, Peter, Kaley, and my sister Shelby!

   April 13 was a very exciting day. Not only was it the day that we would find out our official Festival Disney score, but it was also my sixteenth birthday! Can you say sweet sixteen? And to make the occasion extra special, two of my close friends, Madison and Kaley, flew out to Orlando to celebrate my birthday with me! We spent most of the day in the Magic Kingdom park and it ended up being everyone's favorite park! At 6:00 we headed over to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the exciting Festival Disney show where we received our "Excellent" rating! My favorite mouse, Mickey, even made a few guest appearances. It was the best birthday!

   On April 14, we spent the morning at Disney's Hollywood Studios and had our fill of thrill rides! Then at 12:00 we attended "Disney's Broadway Sings" workshop at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort! The workshop lasted three hours and took us through the entire Broadway process, from auditioning, to final performances. I was thrilled to be cast as Mary Poppins for our performance of "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" from the Broadway show, "Mary Poppins". Click here to see our performance!

   After the workshop, I returned to the hotel my mom, sister, aunt, and friends who weren't in the mixed choir were staying at. My parents had booked an extra day for me to stay in Disney to celebrate my birthday! We ate dinner at my favorite restaurant, 50's Prime Time, and my mom had even booked a reservation for us to go out onto Bay Lake (the lake directly across from the Magic Kingdom) on a pontoon boat to watch Wishes! firework show. Unfortunately, it started raining and we had to get off the lake as quickly as possible. I had a great time laughing with my friends, though, and we ended up watching the fireworks from Disney's Grand Floridian Resort!

At 50's Prime Time with my friends, and our hilarious waitress, Cousin Patty!

With Madison and Kaley! I was so happy they came to Disney with me!

With my wonderful mother, who made the trip go as smoothly as possible! She is our go-to Disney guru!

   I would love to thank so many people for this wonderful experience. First, to my parents for letting me attend the trip and celebrate my birthday in Disney World with my friends. Second, to my friends for spending my birthday with me! I love you all so much! Next, to Festival Disney for planning such a wonderful program that definitely brought magic to me! Last, and most definitely not least, thank you to my wonderful director, Mr. Tartaglia, for planning this trip and preparing us so well for our adjudication! My 14th trip to Disney World was truly a memorable one!

XOXO 

Sarah

Teen Repertory Company 2013

   For all of those who celebrate, Happy Easter! The past holiday weekend has been jam-packed with rehearsals and performances of two plays I was thrilled to be a part of: Drop Dead Juliet and All I Really Need to Know I Learned by Being in a Bad Play.

   For those of you who know me personally, you know that I never pass up a chance to be on stage! Both of these plays were a part of the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center's Teen Repertory Company. I have been a part of the Company since 2011 and have loved performing in shows with all of my friends from over the years. This year was no different. 

   For months, my fellow cast mates and I attended rehearsals and worked as hard as possible to perform the show as best we could. Before we knew it, the shows had arrived and it was time to show the community how much we had prepared. Both plays were comedies, and the audience seemed to love the shows!

My fellow cast mates and I with our wonderful director, Julienne Penza!

   I had such a wonderful time preparing these shows with my friends! The Teen Repertory Company has taught me so much about acting technique, and stage presence. I couldn't have asked for a better experience! Thank you to Julienne for being such a wonderful director! You have taught me so much since we met when I was in sixth grade. I can't wait for next year's Teen Repertory Company!

To learn more about the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, click here.

To learn more about the Teen Repertory Company and the Teen Theater Project, click here.

XOXO,

Sarah 

Miss Long Island's Outstanding Teen 2013

   Well, it's official! I will once again be representing Long Island as Miss Long Island's Outstanding Teen 2013 at the Miss New York's Outstanding Teen Pageant this July! I am thrilled that I will once again be able to raise awareness of my platform, Heart U. This is something that the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Organization has given me a chance to do.

   I have some wonderful and exciting things planned for this year. I hope you continue to follow me throughout my year on this blog, and you may also follow my year through my personal Facebook account, my Heart U Facebook Page, or my Heart U Blog.

   I am looking forward to the exciting year ahead of me!

XOXO,

Sarah

Miss Long Island's Outstanding Teen 2013

Welcome Home, Miss America!

   Whew! What a busy week it has been! This past week my schedule has been filled with March Madness Spirit Week preparations, Varsity Softball practice, play rehearsals, and a chorus concert. Despite the hectic week I had, I still made time to take a trip to the New York Fashion Institute of Technology and attend the Miss America Homecoming Show on Saturday, March 16.
   The show was AMAZING and I was glad to reconnect with some of my Outstanding Teen and Miss New York friends! Not only that, but I was able to meet some really cool people at the Welcome Home After Party!

With Alexa Moley, Miss Richmond County's Outstanding Teen 2012. I met Alexa at the Miss New York's Outstanding Teen Pageant in June and we became great friends! She is such a sweet, funny, and genuine girl. I am happy to call her my friend!

With Ashley, Miss Staten Island's Outstanding Teen 2013. I didn't even have to approach this sweet girl because as soon as she saw me she treated me like she had known me my whole life. It was such a pleasure to meet her, and I cannot wait to compete with her in July!

With Claire Buffie, Miss New York 2010, Acacia Courtney, Miss NYC 2013, and Kira Kazam, Miss Cosmopolitan 2013! 

In front of the official Miss America Homecoming backdrop!

With Kate Shindle, Miss America 1998! A few years ago, I had the privilege of watching her perform in Legally Blonde on Broadway. I was so excited to learn that she would be attending the Homecoming! After taking a quick photo with her, I gave her a Red Dress Pin and explained my platform, Heart U, to her. She seemed really excited to learn about it, and she promised me she would look up the Go Red for Women Initiative when she got home. I even talked about my Broadway idol, Sutton Foster, with her! She was such a thrill to speak with!

With our Miss America. It took a few minutes to track her down for a picture- she was being pulled in every direction! But after taking a quick picture with Mallory, I gave her a Red Dress Pin and explained my platform to her. She didn't have much time to chat, but she seemed interested in what I had to say! 

With Shannon Oliver, our new Miss New York! She is so talented! I gave Shannon a Red Dress Pin as well, and she seemed very interested in my platform. Like Mallory, Shannon was being pulled in many directions, so I was happy to have gotten a picture with her!

One of the people I was most excited to meet was Rachel Wyatt, Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2013. I had heard that she was an unbelievably sweet girl, and I can testify to that! Not only did she take a picture with me, but I also had a wonderful conversation with her about my involvement in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Program and my platform. She was very sweet when she thanked me for the Red Dress Pin I gave her!

With Miss New York's Outstanding Teen 2012, Shannon Ryan, and Miss Queen's Outstanding Teen 2013, Katherine McQuade! Great to see you both again!

Again with Shannon, Miss New York's Outstanding Teen. What a sweet, sweet girl! As soon as she saw me, she came straight up to me and gave me a big hug! Shannon is probably one of the nicest girls I have met, and I'm so glad I got to see her last night! I can't wait to see her again at the Miss New York and Outstanding Teen workshop!

   There were even more people at the Homecoming Party! Ericka Dunlap, Miss America 2004, Caressa Cameron, Miss America 2010, Susan Powell, Miss America 1981, and other former and current state titleholders! All in all, I thought it was an eventful and fun night!

Welcome Home, Miss America!

XOXO,

Sarah

Be Part of Teens in Training Camp 2013

   Just this past weekend one of my friends, Kristina, was crowned Miss Massachusetts's Outstanding Teen 2013. Kristina and I met through the Teens in Training Camp in 2011. Because of Kristina's win, I would like to share with you a little bit about Teens in Training Camp and my experience with the program.
   I attended Teens in Training Camp in August 2011 at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant. I was thrilled to be among the first group of girls to participate in the camp. Throughout the week, my fellow campers and I were able to get an inside look at the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Organization and get helpful tips for competition. We attended talent, gown, interview, and even make-up workshops with professionals in order to learn how to do well in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Organization. We also were able to take part in a photo shoot with the amazing Deb Knoske. All of the campers even got special seating at each of the Miss America's Outstanding Teen preliminary and final shows. Here are some pictures of my time at Teens In Training Camp:

With Lacy Russ, Miss America's Outstanding Teen 2011!

Just being silly!

   With the help of Teens in Training Camp, I was more than prepared for my first state MAOTeen experience! I even placed fourth runner up in my first year competing. If you are a teen and thinking about competing in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Organization, wanting to become more prepared for your next MAOTeen competition, or just wanting to gain more confidence, then Teens in Training Camp 2013 is for you! You will not be disappointed! Who knows, you might even see me there this August!

XOXO,

Sarah

To learn more about the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Organization, click here.

To learn more about Teens in Training Camp, click here.

Don't forget to like Teens in Training Camp on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter!