Fourth of July Parade

Spent the day in the fourth of july parade with my Miss San Diego Outstanding Teen! We had a blast meeting so many people such a the mayor of San Diego as well as many of the wonderful military service men.

Miss California

The Miss California compeititon for Miss America lasted about 10 days and my sister titleholders and I were able to do everything from meeting the mayor, rotary luncheons to a estate BBQ with the Kiwanis Club.  We were interviewed by the Fresno Bee and also appeared on the local news.  It was a wonderful week with all 58 Miss California contestants.

Not only did I make lifelong friends, but I was able to experience an opportunity of a lifetime while representing the finest city out there, San Diego!

Below are a few of my favorite pictures during my time at Miss California:

Performing my talent on stage

Past and present San Diego titleholders at the Mayor's gift exchange.

Opening number production, all the dance rehearsals paid off!

All the girls in white at the Red, White, and Blue appearance.

Special thanks to Habit Burger for being our sponsor! Had a great time bonding with my sisters over lunch.

Thank you to the Lester family for hosting such an amazing BBQ. On the swing with my roommate, Miss Golden Gate! 

It was such an amazing afternoon with the Kiwanis Club!

I love my directors, go TeamSD

With Miss California 2011, Noelle Freeman

In evening gown about to go on stage! I love my dressing room partner, Miss Covina.

Right before swimsuit with all the lovely ladies. 

I have the best support system ever, with my childhood friends: Matt and Kathy.

Before interview

The road to Miss California 2012

It has taken a lot of preparation in order to ready myself for the Miss CA 2012 competition this coming Friday, but it all has been so worth it. This whole experience has been such an amazing and fun journey!

My journey towards the Miss California 2012 pageant has opened up numerous opportunities, both in service and self-improvement. Aside from improving my confidence and providing me the perfect outlet to share my love for performing on the piano, my journey towards Miss California has greatly improved my physical strength. I can finally do unassisted pull-ups! This was something that has always been extremely challenging for me, but all those hours in the gym are starting to show results! It is so important that with our busy schedules, we take care of our bodies--stay hydrated, eat healthy and excercise often!

I was also blessed with the opportunity to meet some amazing people, such as the Alpha Kappa Psi chapter at California State University, San Marcos who were so generous with their time in setting up mock interviews for me.  In addition, to meeting and working with the extraordinarily talented crown coach, Gina Simms, who volunteered her time and experiences with me. Through preparing for the state pageant, I have learned so much about myself. Whether it was building confidence, improving my interview skills, or polishing up my talent, it has been an enjoyable ride!

If you ever need any pageant tips or coaching, I highly recommend working with Gina! She definitely knows what she's talking about; after all, she was Miss Nevada America! With her help, my walking has improved tremendously. Click here to be taken her website. 

Here's to all 58 contestants and all their hard work! Good luck and I can't wait to perform again in Fresno at the Saroyan Theater!

Rady Children's Hospital

Today was a day I will cherish for the rest of my life! My fellow SD sisters, Anna and Leah, came into town and we had the opportunity to go visit Rady Children's Hospital to play with the kids. Rady Children's Hospital is currently the biggest children's hospital in the nation! We meet some amazing children who had the most inspirational stories. The highlight of my visit was being able to visit one of the little girl's bedside and play with her and her disney dolls! I was awestruck to see how high her spirits were, given her condition. We also went into a couple of the play rooms where we bonded with the children. I had so much fun coloring and playing kitchen. Although I have to admit, it has been years since I've used crayons and some of the children, like Aaiysah, who was there recovering from having her appendix removed, were much better at coloring in the lines than I was!

It was such a memorable experience and I am so happy I was able to spend a few hours at Rady.  It really goes to show what a great platform the Miss America Organization has and what our donations to CMN is really going towards. 

Above is a picture of the wagon of stuffed teddy bears we handed out! 

Autograph Cards

My autograph cards have arrived! Much thanks and photo credit to Derick Le--you are an amazing photographer and friend. Also, a special thank you to my Executive Director Kati Enea for helping me decide which photo to use and sending them in. If I didn't have your guidance Kati, I would have probably resorted to the "eenie meenie minee mo" technique!

It has been so much fun signing and writing little messages to children at appearances and events! After one of the workshops for my platform, "Little Fingers, Helping Hands",  one little girl had asked me if I could sign one for her; she said she going to add it to her collage! Her mom told me that they just got back from Disneyland recently and they had created a collage in her room with all the autographs of the Disney princess--I feel so honored to now be included in this impressive list! Moments like this bring tears to my eyes. I told her that one day in the near future, she will be old enough to compete and be a princess too. Every autograph card has the Miss San Diego Organization website on it, which I hope will help spread the word about the pageant. Maybe someday this little girl will look it up and decided to compete too!  Since winning this title, I have been having the best 6 months of my life and I hope to inspire many other young girls to compete for the chance of a very fulfilling and wonderful year of their own!

Children Miracle Network

Today I was able to reach my $450 donation goal to the Children's Miracle Network!  Every year the Miss California Organization donates thousands of dollars to the Children's Miracle Network and all the Miss America title holders, whether at the local or state level, play a huge role in fundraising for that money.

You can click the "Donate" tab above to see my personal donation page, as well as help me raise even more for CMN!

Helping out at the polling center

I can not emphasize enough the importance of voting.  Information packets are available at all polling places, if you are unsure about the measures and potential candidates!  Also, don't forget to pick out an "I Voted" sticker after you submit your ballot-- we have them available in 5 languages! ;)

My Interview with VNTV

Today, I had a TV appearance with VNTV and host, Kenny Dinh!  Thank you VNTV for allowing me to share my platform, "Little Fingers, Helping Hands" as well as brush up on my Vietnamese.  I have received so much support and encouraging words from the Vietnamese community here in San Diego and it felt great to be able to reach out and shed some light about the Miss America Organization.  

Miss San Diego, Van Pham at VNTV

With host, Kenny Dinh!

A few of the crew members of VNTV

The Miss California Website  has been updated. There are brief biographies and facts on all 2012 contestants! 

Golden Achievement Awards Dinner

Tonight, I had the honor of attending and helping out with the Golden Achievement Awards Dinner for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater San Diego.  We were able to raise over $120,000 dollars in donations!  It was great to have spent the evening fundraising with such compassionate people.

 Helping out at the "Wine Shenanigans" table.  We were able to sell all of the mystery wine bottles.

Gamma Girl

It's official, I am a Gamma Girl and my competition schedule is as follows:

Sunday 6/24: Interview
Tuesday 6/26: Evening Wear
Wednesday 6/27: Talent
Thursday 6/28: Swimsuit
Friday 6/29: On Stage Question

Look for me, I am Contestant #3 in the Gamma Group!  Need ticketing information? Message me or comment below.

Vote for Lana Lakdawala

Help our princess win!
You can vote as many times as you like and voting ends on April 29th.  Lana Lakdawala, Miss SD and MCO Princess needs our help! Please vote for her in the Four Points Precious Princess Contest!
Click here to vote!

Judging the City of San Marcos' annual talent show! It was such a difficult task to judge when all 40 acts were amazing.

Pinewood Derby

Anna and I judged the Grand Prix Pinewood Derby!! It was so much fun hanging out with the cub-scouts and talking to their parents!  

National Pancake Day

Flipping pancakes! Amazing morning with wonderful people! I was so fortunate to meet the staff of Rady Children's Hospital and the owner of all the San Diego and Palm Spring's IHOPs.

 Miss Culver City and I had a great time mingling with guests.

Thanks IHOP for your efforts in raising money for the Children's Miracle Network!