Make Me A Cover Model

Hi Everyone!

If you haven't heard I have been selected out of 1,000 other applicants as one of 25 semi-finalists in Fourpoints Magazine Make Me A Cover Model contest! If you follow the link below you can cast your vote!

http://fourpointsmagazine.com/make-me-a-covermodel

You are able to vote up to 100 times per day but you must log on and off your internet connection or computer.

If selected I will appear on the cover of Fourpoints and have a featured story in the magazine!

Thanks for all your support!

Ashley

P.S. Miss Ohio Outstanding Teen contestant Kelsey Barrett is also in the running! Make sure to cast your vote for her too!

"You Always Made Us Look Good...Because You Did the Dumb Stuff"

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all have been doing well! I have been staying busy with class projects, work and events but squeezed in a little time to blog about some exciting things I had the opportunity to do this past week.

I was invited awhile back to speak at the Ohio FCCLA State Conference. I have been a part of the organization since the eighth grade and it holds a special place in my heart. It is also an integral piece of my platform, "Creating Strong Leaders for Tomorrow". Before I had the chance to speak however, I was contacted by Ms. Pam Huston from the Ohio Department of Education. She stated that she would be featuring me and the two other keynote speakers, Kent Boyd, Ohio FCCLA Alumni and 1st runner-up on So You Think You Can Dance, and Joel Penton, OSU Football Player and recipient of the Wuerffel Trophy in a web-based article. Here is the resulting article.

Friday, I made my way down to the Ohio State Fairgrounds and again found myself in familiar territory, among thousands of students furthering their leadership abilities. I presented my speech on my leadership journey and encouraged students to always think outside the box, challenge themselves and innovate and to never be realistic. One of the fatal flaws of leadership is to accept average performance or mediocre ideas, it is required of us to push boundaries. The students response was great and I hope I ignited some desire in them to create more for themselves. Here is a clip from Joel's presentation of the crowd I got to speak to!

I had a great time getting to interact with the students afterwards and am looking forward to working more with the organization on creating leadership development modules for classrooms to use for years to come!

I will keep everyone posted on new events and information on www.twitter.com/MissMansfield20

For the time being I am focused on my last few weeks of school and graduation! Pray for warmer temperatures and have a great Easter and Passover!

Peace, Love and Happiness

Ashley Warholic

P.S. The title for this blog comes from my friend, Leo Almeida; who served with me on the Ohio State Executive Council when I was a freshman in high school. Leo was referring to my spunky spirit on the stage, in workshops and in breakout sessions when we worked together. I was known and still am thought of as the, "fearless one" and was always recruited to make a fool out of myself, specifically lip sync on stage while dressing in the STRANGEST outfits. But, what can I say, I do love to make people laugh!

A Winning Combination

Hi Everyone!

I have a few spare moments today so I figured I would fill everyone in on what I have been up to for the past few weeks, besides enjoying the warmer temperatures and sunshine!

First of all, and probably the most time consuming of all, I was hired at Dillard's Department Store at SouthPark Mall in Strongsville. I have been working about 30+ hours a week in addition to going to class, finishing homework assignments, meeting with the several organizations I am involved in and more. It has been a little overwhelming in addition to the Miss Ohio prep, platform work and trying to maintain a bit of a social life but I have been hanging in there! I work in the Accessories Department helping customers find handbags, jewelry or watches. The people I work with are great and I have learned a lot, not only about sales and our merchandise but, about people in general. I really enjoy the position and it's not too bad for my bank account either!

In addition to my job I have also, slowly and steadily, begun gearing up for Miss Ohio. I had new advertisement photographs taken at the Renaissance Theatre on my only day off over Spring Break and headshot photographs taken a few days, and a haircut, later! I really love them and working again with Crystal Jo Holt from Crystal Jo Foto and Chris Johannsen Miller from The Open Shutter was great! I had a fantastic time and I think the pictures came out really well!

Also, I was asked by Ohio FCCLA to help judge some National Programs for the State Conference coming up in April. I drove down to Columbus last Wednesday to assist them in the process and helped select the winners for the Student Body National Program. Student Body national peer education program focuses on eating right, being fit and making healthy choices. A former Family and Consumer Sciences Education teacher and I learned about middle school and high school students that had helped raise awareness for this cause in their elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. They educated students on making healthy choices, like saying "no" to drugs, how to eat right and select nutritious foods and how exercise can be fun and healthy! It was so great to see the change that these students were creating and I think we selected three really great winners, although the competition was fierce! In addition, the other judges and myself made our own impact that day. Typically, the score sheets and comments are not given back to the students or teachers making it difficult for students to see how their projects were lacking. The other judges and I felt it important that the feedback be given back to the students in order for them to improve and better make corrections in the future. A simple change that will undoubtedly yield some great results!

In other news, I have made a large change to my future plans and decided not to go to graduate school right away. I had filled out the applications, received letters of recommendation, paid the fees, the whole nine yards however, after my first interview I knew I wasn't ready... just yet. I love Higher Education and believe that Student Affairs is where I will end up in time but I need more experiences in other fields as well in order to make such a large commitment. This definitely changes my plans for the next few months however, although, it is terrifying, not having a rock solid plan, I am confident in my abilities and in God, and for this situation I think that's a winning combination.

I have tons of events coming up including Miss Ohio Forum, Ohio FCCLA State Conference, my last finals week and Graduation. I am so excited for all the opportunities in the next few weeks and I promise to share more soon!

Ashley

P.S Follow me on Twitter at MissMansfield20

Ice Cubes in the Toilet

Hi Everyone!

I hope everyone has stayed safe and warm these past few days! The weather has allowed me a chance to cross off some important tasks on my to-do list including, updating everyone on what I have been up to for the past few months! (Also, the key to a snow day is ice cubes in the toilet according to one of my favorite friends, Miss Lauren Beard!)

In August, I began my senior year at Baldwin-Wallace College. I had a schedule full of capstone and honors courses, internships and leadership positions to keep me extremely busy for my first few months back. I organized sorority recruitment for Alpha Phi this September, was the Co-President of the Buzz Ambassadors Program in the Admission Office and interned in the Student Life Center helping research peer mentor programs and creating leadership materials for organizations across campus. In addition, I made the decision in the summer to pursue a master's degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education and was beginning the long process of applying to graduate schools.

However, although my days were busy I felt like I was missing something and that, I realized, was the Miss Ohio Program. So, in between my 22nd birthday and final exam week I competed in my hometown pageant, Miss Mansfield. I dug out my swimsuit shoes, dusted off the gowns and brushed up on my interview facts and was shocked when my name was called as Miss Mansfield. Miss Mansfield was the first local pageant I ever competed in and it has always been my dream to represent the place I came from at Miss Ohio! The Sunday after the pageant I met with press and my new local directors then packed up to start my final exams (I finished on the Dean's List!).

In December, I continued working on my applications to graduate school in addition to spending time with my family and celebrating the holiday season. I also volunteered at Toy Time, a local organization that donates thousands of toys to families that are in need. It was great to help an organization that provides so many children with a happy Christmas that they potentially would not have had otherwise. I also had to opportunity to be Santa's little helper at the Dial-A-Santa event arranged by Graham's Auto Mall in Mansfield. Children from all over the Mansfield area and beyond dialed in to talk to the big man himself and his elves. I had the best time listening to all the unique wishes and requests!

Miss America this year was so exciting! Miss Ohio, Becky Minger was a resident of the Warholic Inn her first year at Miss Ohio and since then has always been one of our favorites to cheer for! My family and I kept careful watch during the week of Miss America and thought Becky looked stunning and sounded beautiful and intelligent throughout all of the week's events. We were shocked and saddened when Becky did not make the final cut however could not have been more proud of all her accomplishments. We are truly blessed to have Becky in our lives and believe she embodies all the ideals of the Miss America Program. In addition, I believe that the new Miss America, former Miss Nebraska, Teresa Scanlon will be a great representative for the organization and I am so excited to see her throughout her reign.

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend an event sponsored by the Kiwanis Club to raise funds for the Friendly House in Mansfield. The event was entitled, "Talkin' with the Tribe" and hosted Matt Underwood from Sports Time Ohio and Bob DiBiasio, Public Relations Executive of the Cleveland Indians. All the attendees enjoyed ballpark food and conversation on one of our favorite teams. My mom and dad both attended with me and between the three of us we managed to win a T-shirt from the raffle, an autographed Travis Haffner jersey that was auctioned off and the 50/50 raffle, we donated the proceeds of the 50/50 raffle back to the Friendly House and all the money from the auction was given to the organization as well! After the festivities had settled down I had the opportunity to speak with Baldwin-Wallace Alumna, Matt Underwood and shared some fun stories about B-W then and now. Later that evening, I had the honor of sharing dinner with seven other students at Baldwin-Wallace College President, Dick Durst's home. We had a lovely evening getting to know each other and discussing after graduation plans. The only rule President Durst gave us for the evening was completing the statement, "If I were President of Baldwin-Wallace I would ..." All of the guests offered his or her small changes to the campus and President Durst was willing and excited to hear all of our advice. He also stated that many of the changes that occurred on campus had began at the table we were sitting at, from students like us. It was a special experience that I will forever cherish.

Now, I am working on fundraising for the Children's Miracle Network, gearing up for judging and speaking for the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America organization and meeting with local students! Also, I am beginning to hear from graduate school programs and must begin interviewing for each school, in addition to finishing my last semester at Baldwin-Wallace!

Below I have included a few photos from over the months!

Stay bundled up and safe!

Peace, love and happiness,

Ashley

Crowning Moment

Press Day with Little Miss Snowflake

Dial-A-Santa Event with Sister Queen, Heather Waterman

With the organizers of Toy Time!

Only SOME of the toys that were donated to families in need!

Miss America Watch Party!

(Me, Ashlee, Mom and Colleen)

Matt Underwood and I at, "Talkin' with the Tribe" Event

"Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate Only Love Can Do That"

Hi Everyone!

I promise to update everyone soon on what I have been up to these past few months (trust me I've been busy hence the lack of blogging.) but first I wanted to share a great experience I had yesterday evening.

Last night, Baldwin-Wallace College hosted Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, New Jersey on campus. Mayor Booker was invited to speak on ethical leadership in addition to the dream and realities of Martin Luther King Jr. However, what Mayor Booker presented was so much more than a lecture and reflection.

Booker began by describing his childhood, parents and the obstacles his family had to overcome. He then seamlessly started to reflect on Martin Luther King Jr.'s dreams and the lessons we must all take away from MLK's short yet impressive life.

Personally, Martin Luther King Jr. has always been of interest to me. I can vividly remember a day in the second grade when I brought my Encarta Encyclopedia on CD-ROM disc into class and played a clip of MLK delivering his, "I Have a Dream," speech. I was in total awe of his powerful words but confused about his obvious message. As a second grader from a small town in the heart of Ohio I had never experienced any race issues. From my perspective, this was a problem of the past, Abraham Lincoln had abolished slavery and, I would definitely have no problem joining hands with anyone! However, as I grew I began to witness the tremendous divide the history of race relations in this country had created for the present and future. Although we, as a nation, have made great strides toward equality for all races and ethnicities we are still a long distance from the dream that Martin Luther King Jr. had envisioned.

Mayor Booker shared and reflected on one of King's poignant quotes, "history will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." He stated again, " not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people." This statement immediately created a connection for me. Throughout my diversity training and mediating as an Orientation Leader we discussed, "What Would You Do," after watching clips from the identically titled ABC show. The most common question we would ask was, "does silence condone the behavior?" Now, it was almost like Martin Luther King Jr. and Cory Booker were my facilitators and they were asking me, "what is your silence doing to create a solution to the problem?" So many of us believe we know what is right and wrong and what we should do in situations. However, we falter when it comes to our actions. Do we stand up to someone who is doing something we don't agree with or do we merely turn a blind eye? Mayor Booker poked fun at all of the armchair politicians that watch the news and get so fired up that they yell and scream at the TV and pump their fists but when it comes to making actual change do little. Change comes from action.

My favorite point that Mayor Booker made was that it is the day to day kindness and love that creates change and makes a difference. By doing good deeds and spreading kindness each day we will create a more conscientious world that strives to do better for all citizens. Booker also stated that what we see around us is what we are made of. It is easy to see darkness and despair but that means inside we are equally depressed. However, if we look upon our world with hope and ambition we will be able to create possibilities meaning our souls are just as beautiful and courageous. In order for our world to become a better place we must look beyond ourselves and our needs and focus on the people, places and things around us.

Mayor Booker was a huge inspiration to me and I hope my interpretation of his words ignite a flame of activism in you as well. I look forward to making a difference in the people and places around me and I hope you will do the same.

I want to leave you with an African quote that Mayor Booker relayed to us that specifically stood out to me, "When spiderwebs unite they can tie-up a lion." Although we may be a small part to a large problem with action and some help we can create huge changes.


More updates soon!

Ashley

P.S. Follow me on Twitter at MissMansfield20