Miss Liberty Pageant

Hello everyone!

Spring Break flew by in seconds! Proud to say I didn't sit on my couch all day and watch movies (though it was very tempting), but instead got to attend several events and prep for Miss Iowa! Last Thursday, I was able to attend to Professional Women's Network luncheon with Diversity Focus and learn about the millions of opportunities for women in the work force and the increasing amount of new women entrepreneurs in todays society. Chuck Peters, the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Gazette Company, and his wife talked about Iowa's Creative Corridor and it's future and current progress. I had a great time and learned a lot about our city and the role women play in it.

On Saturday, my directors Ashley and Elaine were able to stop by to pick out some outfits for my photoshoot with Shrik Photography and lay out possible outfits for Miss Iowa. I had a great time "modeling" for them and got even more excited for Miss Iowa this June! The next day I attended the Miss Liberty Pageant in Dewitt and had a wonderful time watching the pageant. I got to see some familiar faces and meet some new ones as well. 

My lovely director, Elaine

All of our local titleholders at the pageant

Until next time,

Your Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen,
Nina Yu

Happy Spring!

Hello everyone,

What a busy, yet successful few weeks! Since my last blog post, I competed in my last show choir competition of the season and Protege ended it with a bang. We made a clean sweep and won Grand Champions, best vocals, and best male soloist, way to go Protege!

At night, I left the show choir competition and headed to the Cedar Rapids Public Library to watch the Miss Cedar Valley Pageant. I had a great time meeting new local titleholders and watching the pageant, the girls competing were all great. Congratulations to our new Miss Cedar Valley, Amanda Manning!

The week flew by and I prepared for a National History Day competition for Friday. National History Day is a nation wide competition that engages students to create history through various forms. My partner, Sweta, and I have been doing a performance for 5 years now! In the last 2 years, we were even blessed to win the state performance winner and head to Washington D.C. to compete in nationals. This year, Sweta and I performed a 10 minute skit about the rights and responsibilities of a journalist during the Nazi Reign and received the senior performance district winner and will be heading to state April 28th!

Now that it's Spring Break, I'll be kicking back my feet and finding a new book to read. I am excited to meet up with Ashley and Elaine this weekend to figure out my outfits for Miss Iowa week and my photoshoot with Shirk Photography! 

Your Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen,

Nina Yu

National Pancake Day at IHOP

Last Tuesday, I was able to volunteer at my local IHOP and fundraise for the Children's Miracle Network at the University of Iowa. I had such a great time and raised over $200! I was able to see some of my friends who stopped by to donate and meet new people to talk about the Miss America Organization and my Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen title. Oh, I also got free pancakes. Score!

 

Your Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen,

Nina Yu

It's Show Choir Season

Hello everyone!

This February has been crazy busy, but I have loved every second of it! Since it is show choir season, I have been competing in numerous show choir competitions every weekend representing the Kennedy High School prep show choir "Protégé". We have been very successful this year and have taken home 3 grand champions and even placed in finals, competing against varsity groups! I've had an absolute blast hanging out with my show choir family and performing onstage.

Backstage, getting ready to perform!

Nothing better than performing onstage with your friends

I have also been very busy working with Diversity Focus and promoting my blog (link:http://www.diversityfocus.org/category/fellows-blogs/asian-american-blog/) Every week I will be uploading a blog post based on a topic we are given. This post have really helped me grow as a writer as well as become more knowledgeable on my platform "Diversity Advocacy". I was very blessed to see one of my article's appear on the Cedar Rapids Gazette!

As this busy season dies down, I hope to focus more on preparation for Miss Iowa Week and participating in more events as Miss Muscatine. Next Tuesday, I will be volunteering at IHOP to celebrate National Pancake Day and the Children's Miracle Network, stay tuned!

Nina Yu
Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen

Muscatine Bridal Expo

Hi everyone,

  I had a wonderful time at the Muscatine Bridal Expo last weekend! I was able to emcee the fashion show with my sister queen, Serica Rowley. The show was great, I especially loved seeing all the beautiful gowns and decorations, kinda made me start thinking of my future wedding…..in like 10 years. A big thanks to Jaime Weikrut for setting this fun event up and letting us queens emcee the show. As my first appearance as Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen, it was a show well done.

Emceeing the fashion show

The whole crew

Wendy, Serica, and I

Kind Regards,

Nina Yu

Miss Muscatine Outstanding Teen

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

Introducing Muscatine's Outstanding Teen 2014, Nina Yu!  Nina will be documenting her journey to Miss Iowa's Outstanding Teen and beyond throughout her year of service.