6 Months in the Life of WIOTeen!

Today is my 6-month anniversary of being Miss Wisconsin's Outstanding Teen 2012! I cannot believe that I'm already half-way done with my year, book looking ahead to next 6 months, I know that there are many more exciting opportunities to come!

Already in just these 6 months, I've traveled over 3,700 miles across this great state of Wisconisn and the nation representing the Miss Wisconsin Organization! Over my journey there have definitely been some appearances and events that have stuck out and been favorites in my mind. So in honor of my 6 month anniversary, here are my Top 6 Favorite Appearances as WIOTeen!

#6 Children's Miracle Network Miracle Treat Day

 

As many of you might know, the Miss America Organization's National Platform is the Children's Miracle Network. For this appearance, I spent the day at the Dairy Queen in Broofield, WI selling raffle tickets, fundraising, and of course enjoying a delicious blizzard! I had the opportunity to participate in an interview for the Children's Hopsital of Milwaukee, and got to meet some amazing 'Miracle Kids' whose stories inspire me everyday! The best part was finding out that after 4 hours, we collected over $100 to help benefit CMN and the Children's Hospital!

#5 Oshkosh Farmer's Market and Festival Foods

 

This was my very first appearance ever as WIOTeen, so it holds a very special place in my heart! After barely sleeping a couple hours after I was crowned, I woke up that morning to go to the Oshkosh Farmer's Market to sign autographs with the other 'Miss' contestants. Then it was off to the Festival Foods to help bag groceries and eat a delicious lunch, sponsored by Festival! I have to give a huge shoutout and thanks to all the 'Miss' contestants who were with me that day, you are all such great role models and instantly made me feel apart of the group!

#4 Wisconsin State Fair

 

 

The Wisconsin State Fair was a first for me, and it was definitely a favorite! The first part of my day was spent talking to all the 4H members and gettting to meet some of their furry friends (I especially connected with a cow named Pepsi)! I then had an awesome opportunity to judge some kids contest for Sentry Foods, with some amazing other celebrity judges! Unfortunately, the judges were asked to show how good at hula-hooping we were; let's just say it only lasted a couple of seconds! I ended the day, with the State Fair Parade where I was able to reunite with my Miss New Berlin - Raquel!

 

#3 Warren's Cranberry Festival

 



 

This was honestly one of the absolute funnest appearances EVER! It was a fun filled day with parades, food, interacting with the crowd, and a little shopping on the side! The best part was that I got to share it with my 'big sister' Miss Wisconsin 2012 - Kate Gorman! I think we both agreed that after this weekend, it's going to be hard to ever eat craberries again!

#2 Thursday Night Lights (Waukesha West and Homestead)

As many of you might know, I parterned with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to further my work with my own platform 100% Drive: The Dangers of Distracted Driving. The WisDOT in September had me travel with them for their Thursday Night Lights program, where they set up their booth at different football games in eastern Wisconsin. I was also able to be interviewed by Mike McGivern for My24Milwaukee to speak about how we can all take simple steps to help reduce this problem! A highlight, though, was definitely being able to visit Homestead High school for one of the games, which is also the Highschool of WIOTeen 2011 - Annie Jorgensen!

And finally, my #1 favorite appearance!....

#1 Miss America's Outstanding Teen!

 Group shot outside Medieval Times!

 Group shot outside Planet Hollywood!

 Group shot outside the Rosen Centre Hotel!

 My bestfriends and sisters for the week! (TX, AL, AR, MS)

 Some fabulous ladies before orientation!

 Special moment meeting my favorite Miss America - Erika Dunlap!

 



I plan on doing a more indepth recap of MAOT, but I had to put it in here as hands down the most amazing experience I've had thus far as WIOTeen! The 52 other contestants aren't just friends to me, they are forever my sisters! Being surrounded by such amazing, talented, intelligent, and hilarious girls that week only inspires me more to be the best WIOTeen and me that I can be! A huge highlight of that week, was getting to meet Miss America 2004 - Erika Dunlap. 2004 was the first year I ever watched Miss America on TV, and I remember being so inspired by Erika and all the other contestants, knowing that one day I wanted to be up on that stage, just like them! Even though I didn't come home with the crown that week, I really came home with so much more. The memories, the laughs, the sisters, and the inspiration are the things I will carry with me forever!

So there you have it! My Top 6 Favorite Appearances as WIOTeen so far! But as I look ahead to my next 6 months, I'm excited knowing that there will be even more amazing experiences to add to my list! This has truly been an awesome journey, and I am so blessed with the opportunity; I hope to make you proud Wisconsin!

Madeline Morgan
Miss Wisconsin's Outstanding Teen 2012