Aside from my platform and pageants...

I am also heavily involved in school. Upon entering LIM College, I learned they had never had a choir before, which has been my world since I was in first grade. So to remedy this situation, my friend Jen and I decided we would found LIM's first choir. We had a very successful beginning year filled with exciting performances, laughs, memories and even an award! A member of Ultimate Choir just e-mailed me and passed along a story she wrote about us for our school's online blog. As the Vice-President and Co-Founder, I wanted to take a brief moment and do some minor bragging and show off the members' hard work.

6/2/2010 - 3:06 PM

LIM's New Student Chorus

On April 9, 2010, an introduction from LIM College President Marcuse opened the official debut of LIM College’s student choir to the college faculty and staff at an All College Meeting. That was the choir’s first performance, and based on the raves that reached members of the choir by email, it will definitely not be the last. In fact, shortly thereafter the choir performed at a Student Life conference meeting. LIM College even bestowed the choir an academic award for its achievement in such a short time.

The LIM College uLtIMate Choir, as it has been named, has four members. Co-founders, Jennifer Daiches and Cassandra Franklin sought out an advisor to help create a club that would embrace their interest in singing and Advisor Joy Leslie stepped forward. Olivia Hotar and I joined the founders, enabling four-part harmony in the a cappella group. After struggling initially, members secured the assistance of Professor Wlodarczyk, who was teaching a course on appreciating music. Professor Wlodarczyk guided the choir in developing repertoire such as The Beatles “I Will” and Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours.”

Olivia Hotar is looking forward to singing for entering students during Welcome Week, and said, “I am so very excited about the performances in August. They are going to take a lot of preparation but they will be worth it when we blow people away."

To get involved with the choir in the 2010 Fall Semester, find our table at the student involvement fair, also called “club day” early in the term. Choir president, Jennifer Daiches said, “Next semester...we are hoping to expand our choir a little bit…giving us a larger selection of songs to perform. I hope that we will continue to give amazing and liberating performances.”

--Adriana Rivera

I know this is different from my usual posts, but I thought it was necessary to show what can happen from a simple idea. In some ways it correlates with what I preach about in my programs on bullying. If you give students the opportunity to participate or even create a group they are passionate about, most likely you will not see children exhibiting bullying behavior. Granted, bullying has thankfully never been an issue in this group, but I felt it was something important to remember. Involving your children in something positive that they are interested in can do a lot.

In other news, I picked up my evening gown from the tailors today, and I have to say it is one of the most stunning gowns I have ever laid eyes on. I feel truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to wear a garment I feel so beautiful in. I can't wait for my friends and family to see me wearing it on stage! If I could bottle my personality and make it into a garment, it would be this evening gown. Only 10 more days till Miss New York!