Hello!

I'm so blessed to say that I, Nina Yu, am your new Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen 2014. What a great honor! For my first blog post, I would like to introduce a little about myself and also explain my goals I would like to achieve while being Miss Muscatine.

I currently am 15 years old attending Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I enjoy being a part of my school's show choir "Protege", participating in multiple theatre productions at my school and at Theatre Cedar Rapids, volunteering every sunday for soup kitchen, and playing piano. Though with a busy schedule, I try to make out as much time to catch up on my favorite TV show, "Gossip Girl", go ice skating with friends, and even started to knit (no, not all people who knit are grandma's!)

My platform, Diversity Advocacy: Embracing the Unique You, is mainly focusing on the acceptance of all cultures, backgrounds, and ethnicities and working together to become one unified community. I am also very honored to be a fellow for a non-profit organization, Diversity Focus, centered in Cedar Rapids that strives to promote diversity and cultural awareness. As an Asian American Fellow, I am creating another blog specifically for Diversity Focus, interviewing important Asian Americans, and attending fundraising events to promote the mission and goal of Diversity Focus. As Miss Muscatine, I strive to expand and promote my platform into Muscatine and attend more events to spread the word.

As I started my rein as Miss Muscatine, I first went to Francesca & Salvatore Vitale's to eat the most delicioius pasta and meet some great people on the Muscatine board. After pageant day, I headed straight to Le Chic Prom and Pageant Boutique to purchase my state and talent gowns. I had a wonderful time trying on dresses, I wish I could just take them all! Thank you so much Stacy and Heather! This weekend, I'll be attending a Bridal Expo in Muscatine, but more on that later…

Kindly regards,

Nina Yu
Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen 2014