Lifestyle & Fitness at Miss America
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode | ||
Alyse Zwick Alyse Zwick, Miss New York 2009, is a 23-year-old Dean’s List student at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. A resident of Scarsdale, New York, Alyse competed as Miss Westchester County at the Miss New York Pageant in June and was a preliminary winner of the Physical Fitness in Swimsuit award. This January she will compete at the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas for the title of Miss America 2010. Alyse is a first generation Slovak American. Her mother, aunt and grandparents were born in Slovakia and escaped the Communist regime in 1948. Alyse’s mother, Jean Kulhan, was first runner-up in the 1969 Miss New York Pageant as Miss Rockland County. Alyse’s personal platform for the Miss America Organization is Heroes: Helping Give Veterans Their Lives Back. Her love for the veterans’ community began after her grandfather, a decorated World War II veteran, shared his war experiences. While documenting these stories, Alyse embraced her grandfather’s heroism and legacy of service. This led to her awareness of the current needs of our service members, their families, and our veterans. Thus began her journey to support the veterans’ community, fully understanding that ‘Freedom is Not Free’; a statement that resounds far and wide. Alyse is the official spokesperson for the United War Veterans Council in New York City and the host of their Thank You For Serving project; sent to our troops overseas. She organizes school assembly programs where service members share their heroic war experiences with the students; and she encourages youth to write letters to our troops. Alyse volunteers with recovering service members at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and was a featured speaker at West Point, The United States Military Academy. Last Veterans Day, she hosted former President Bush, then-Senator Clinton, and Governor Paterson at the ceremony for the U.S.S. Intrepid’s return to the New York Harbor. She worked alongside Assemblywoman Amy Paulin to urge Governor Paterson to sign legislation that increased real property tax exemptions for Cold War Veterans; successfully passed. In addition, she volunteers with the National Military Families Association, The USO, The Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, and other military organizations. For her work as an advocate in the veteran’s community, Alyse has received a certificate of recognition for her dedicated efforts on both state and national levels. She’s also featured in the Vietnam Veterans of America national magazine for her volunteerism at the Walter Reed Hospital. Professionally, Alyse is a working actor and model. At the age of one, she booked her first national commercial for Downy Detergent. As a teen, she attended Pebblebrook High School and The Cobb County Center for Excellence in the Performing Arts, in Atlanta, Georgia. She was accepted into their dance/musical theater company and was a drama major with a dance/voice minor. After graduating high school, Alyse received a talent scholarship to Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio where she continued her training as a theater major. Some of her recent acting credits include film roles in Freedom’s Gate (a film about her grandparents escape from communist Czechoslovakia) and Eight Easy Steps. Her television credits include a recurring role on Stand-up Nation with Greg Giraldo, and various television commercials (including Burger King and Optimum Online Triple Play.) She has modeled forThe New York Times and The New York Post, was a fitness model in a six-page spread ofShape Magazine, and has been featured on the cover of Newsweek. Alyse continues to strive for improvements and quality care for all veterans, active duty, and military families, while capturing their heroic stories. She continues to urge others to remember our veterans, who exemplify what it means to be free and what it takes to serve this country. Click here to visit her website |
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CC Barber CC Barber, Miss Oregon 2009, is a small town girl with big city dreams. As a native Oregonian and a nursing student in her final semester at Samuel Merritt University, CC Barber, is a caring and driven young woman with a heart of gold. CC has partnered with Friends of the Children to spread awareness of the revolutionary and preventative mentoring program designed for our nation’s highest-risk youth. As a young ambassador of Friends of the Children-Portland and a supporter of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, CC Barber greatly believes in bettering the lives of underprivileged children. During her year of service, CC has been working with a variety of non-profit and community organizations with the desire to make a difference in people’s lives and futures. The Miss Oregon Website |
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