Senior Center / Miss Lake Festival Pageant

And summer marches on! In less than a month now I will be moved back into my lovely apartment in Fair Commons at Anderson University, recuperating from my first day of dance intensive. This fall, Anderson University School of Music is putting on a musical revue of Irving Berlin's most beloved works entitled "I Love a Piano", and I couldn't be more excited about it! I will hopefully be able to wipe the layer of dust off of my tap shoes for this musical. Oh, how my feet ache to dance again! Or should I say, ache to ache again. :) It should be a phenomenal show, however, and it is running the first two weekends in October. Come support me in my last musical at AU!

This past Saturday I stopped in and visited some wonderful residents of The Laurels, a senior center in Defiance.  It was such a joy to sing for the residents and to speak about my recent experience at Miss Ohio. They were so receptive, and a few eager women even sang along. I loved it! They are so warm and talkative and always brighten my day a bit while I try to brighten theirs as well.

This visit was a very special one for me because I was able to see a special mentor of mine who happens to be residing in The Laurels for the time being. Jim Estep, a long-time supporter and scholarship sponsor of the Miss Ohio program, also happens to be my former voice instructor. He sort of helped me to discover my voice! I transferred from a tiny Christian school to Defiance High School, and I was referred to Mr. Estep by a fellow student. He then proceeded to ask me, "Where have you been?!" I took that as a compliment, but only let it push me to become the very best vocalist I could be. He is funny, compassionate, and brutally honest, and has such an ear for music. I would not be where I am today without his guidance, so it was such a gift to spend a few hours with him when my formal visit ended.

Last night, July 19, I had the opportunity to go see the Miss Lake Festival pageant in Celina! I had never gone to that pageant before, and I just so happened to be free last night, so I packed up my parents and my friend Nicole, and we headed down to Celina. It was a great night. A hot night... but a great night. :) All I can say is Thank God for the person who invented air-conditioning. God bless you.
Ellen Bryan did a stunning job as the emcee for the evening. She has such a sparkle when she is onstage! It was also great to see my Miss Ohio buddy, Devon Stansbury! She has grown so much from the start of her pageant journey, and she has developed into quite the beautiful dancer! Wow, such elegant routines she performed last night. I was also jazzed to see Erica Gelhaus, former Miss Ohio AND my Miss Ohio roomie in 2009! Such a beautiful lady inside and out! She is always such a joy to see.

The contestants last night did an amazing job. They were all very polished and kept their cool in that very toasty venue. I was impressed. :) Congratulations to all of the girls. Some of the award winners that I remember are: Onstage question winner - Kirsten Fennig; Interview/Talent - Jena Sweigart; 3rd RU - Kelsea Ellen; 2nd RU - Kirsten Fennig; 1st RU - Emily Werling; Miss Lake Festival - Jena Sweigart

Great job everyone, I am so grateful for the opportunity to watch you compete!

(Sorry for the picture, Jena! Haha, but congratulations!!)

Until next time! <3

Goosebumps

Hello one and all!!

I hope you are enjoying this weather! It is finally feeling appropriate for the time of year!
I have been a busy bee preparing for Miss Ohio! I am so very excited to take that stage and bring all that I have to offer up there with me. Over the past 3 weeks of hard exercise and eating healthy, non-Anderson University food, I have shed a few pounds and really toned up as well! I couldn't be prouder of myself for exercising such willpower! And as of today, at this very moment, all of my shopping is done except for fake eyelashes and perhaps a shirt for my dance production number. I even have my basket completed, except for a container to put it in! I feel very good at this point.

My wonderful directors, Randy Schroeder and Amy Shaw, have been tirelessly working with me every week that I have been home to prepare me for my interview. I have another round of mock interviews this Thursday evening. And next Tuesday night I have a send-off party where I will be modeling my wardrobe and performing my talent song for a small group of family and friends who cannot make it to Miss Ohio. I couldn't be more excited to be representing my hometown and to have such awesome support behind me! I even had the wonderful chance to visit Mr. Jim Estep and show him some of my wardrobe pieces and work on my talent song with him. He is not in the best health at the moment and will not be able to attend Miss Ohio this year. This saddens both of us, because if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in this pageant system at all. But it was great to visit him.

I also had the opportunity to visit Defiance Senior and Junior High Schools a week ago and speak on the importance of music in schools and life in general. They were a very receptive audience and I was able to perform 4 songs for each class. That was a lot of singing, but boy was it fun!

One boy raised his hand after I finished singing and he asked, "How come I got goosebumps on my arms when you sang really high?" To which I replied, "Well, I would like to think

that happened because you liked my singing!" He then replied, "Oh... yeah, yeah! I think you're right! Wow, you sang so loud, and with no microphone... but so good!" All of the kids, and I, giggled.

Those are the times that I remember why I do this! It is for those funny moments with children, where I can connect with them and make them laugh, and thus present my message about music in a fun way!

This weekend I am attending the wedding of two of my friend's and colleagues at Anderson University, but on Sunday I will be back to attend my high school alma mater's graduation ceremony and then zip over to a senior center and perform for the residents there. More updates to come!

It's MAY?!

Hello everyone!

This is my very belated blog post to synopsize what has been happening in my life over the past two months. I was hoping to do an update in April, but my schedule, in all sincerity, has been about the equivalent of two people's schedules. I have been going on a NYC tour with my college's choir, taking 20 credit hours, participating in a world premiere of an opera with a role I was handed a month before the premiere due to a girl stepping down from the role, participating in a weekend opera improvisation workshop, preparing/practicing for my end-of-year voice jury, auditioning for the fall musical, finishing up my recital attendance requirements, working various recitals, accompanying three voice lessons and playing for their juries, writing a 10 page music history research paper, arranging a hymn for a full orchestra for my final exam, playing in the Anderson University Wind Ensemble's spring concert, and finishing up my 25 hours practicum in high school choral methods, all while trying to maintain some semblance of a social life with a sparkling crown balanced nicely on my head.

WHEW!

But, I made it! I'm here, and drum roll please... I attained a 3.8 cumulative GPA and managed to pull off an A- in my Music History class! That is the hardest class I have ever had in my entire academic career, and I worked my hiney off! So glad to see it paid off. :)

Here are some pictures from my busy

few months, not pageant related:

((Lamenting over my short legs outside of Radio City Music Hall, preparing for clarinet improv. in opera improv. workshop, sporting my groundhog gear after leaving Punxsutawney, PA, at Times Square with my best ladies, and Skating at Rockefeller Plaza in NYC on our first date))

In pageant related news:

I had an opportunity to jet away for a quick weekend off campus to support the girls participating in the Sweeps pageant this year. It was so exciting to be in the audience, and all of the girls did a lovely job! I was only able to stay for the first competition, but I was very proud of all of the girls!

I also had the chance to go to the Miss Ohio forum at 4H Camp Ohio! Yet again, this was one of my highlights of my year as a titleholder so far! I love how this atmosphere really breaks down the walls that are between the girls. We even had to wash all of our makeup off at one point.

It truly brought us all together on a deeper level than simply as competitors. I loved the crazy scavenger hunt, the challenge course, the delicious s'mores, and the sort of Miss Ohio "boot camp" where we had to sign out name a million times, deliver an imprompu speech, and apply our makeup in 5 minutes. It was truly a great weekend of bonding, and I can proudly say that we all got along very well.

Also, just yesterday was the Miss Ohio Community Service Day/Bowlathon! This is also one of my favorite days! I love going to bless the community by visiting with them and singing for them. I had the chance to get a little closer to Jessica Nelson (Miss Cuyahoga County) and Kylie Johnson (Miss Muskingum Valley) at Lexington Courts. We visited with the residents, I sang a few songs (sadly, neither of them could perform!), ate lunch, and continued to visit before

heading to the bowling alley. Bowling was fantastic as well! We all raised quite a bit of money for the program! And my nerdy humor even won my team some Subway gift cards! (I named our team the "Northwest Ninjas"!)

Overall, it was a fantastic day! We all seemed to have a great time together and truly enjoyed each others company. I cannot wait for Miss Ohio week to get here!!

I have my second mock interview tomorrow night. I have my entire competition wardrobe in place, and now it is just tweaking and buying odds and ends until that wonderful day of June 10th rolls around. :) I have a few appearances lined up at nursing homes and a possible radio interview and a possible hospital visit. So I will ideally be updating once more before THE week begins. :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you enjoy my pictures below, and God bless you! I have obviously been very busy at school, and that is preparing me in many ways for Miss Ohio, but I have also been actively working out and brushing up on my current events. I feel very excited for Miss Ohio this year. The first year, in fact, where very little anxiety about the actual pageant itself is plaguing me! I think this definitely has to do with the maturity I have gained throughout this past year, and also my relationship with God being that much stronger, along with the help of some amazing friends and family. God, and my support system, really helps me keep everything in perspective and gives me a peace about things. :)

(For more pictures, check out my facebook page!)

Courtney Monk

Miss Northwestern Ohio 2011