It's My Birthday!

Hello you guys!

I know, I know, I know. It's been forever since I've last blogged. What can I say except life has been crazy hectic. I'm taking a sec to blog today because I've just celebrated my birthday. Yep, I'm officially 21 years old. It is BEYOND crazy to be the baby of the family and now be 21. This kind of thing really makes me thankful and reflective about all of my experiences.

Now to the updates. A week after I finished school, I went to UMSL to spend a week with 34 lovely ladies from eight other Missouri schools at the Sue Shear Leadership Institute. We met with women lawyers, judges, politicians, campaign managers, and entrepreneurs throughout the week, had fancy dinners, tons of discussion, and even went to Jefferson City, MO to conduct mock legislation and eat lunch in the governor's mansion. Here are some pictures from that exciting week:

The Truman girls with fellow Truman lady
and the new MO Supreme Court
Chief Justice Mary Rhodes Russell '80!

At the Women's Club in St. Louis after a Keynote Dinner

In the senate chamber in Jefferson City, MO 

after a mock legislative session

Some of the Shear Fellows and Dr. Dayna Stock 

(fourth from the left) after the graduation

Then, a week later, I went to NYC for three days to attend a leadership conference for a new non-profit I'm working with called REACT to FILM that aims to inspire social change by showing documentaries to various audiences. I met tons of amazing people, directors, and business people. I also was able to fulfill my lifelong dream of living in NYC. We stayed in a small but luxe hotel in Queens, took the subway everyday, went to Chinatown, Little Italy, and Union Square.

With Antonino D'Ambrosio,
director of Let Fury Have the Hour 

The other chapter leaders getting
settled in the conference room

With my roommates.
They're both Chinese; what a coincidence!

Outside of Grand Central Station

Walking to Little Italy for dessert at Ferrara

View from LaGuardia Airport while waiting for my plane back to the Midwest

At the Museum of the Moving Image for screening of How to Make Money Selling Drugs  and a Q&A with the film's producer Adrian Grenier of Entourage fame

REACT to FILM Chapter Leaders and interns, RtF Director of Educational Programs Dahlia Graham (front row, third from left), President and Co-founder Coralie Paul (front row, fourth from left), Director Antonino D'Ambrosio (in the leather jacket)

With the team my amazing boss, Mrs. Angie Brown (in the red jacket)

For the past few weeks, I've been working for AmeriCorps at the 17th Street Summer Fun Camp with some awesome and diverse people. We mentor over 100 children ages 4-16 for five days a week from the wee hours of the morning to the afternoon. I've served with AmeriCorps at this camp for the past three years and I can honestly say that my time here has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.

Clearly, this has been a whirlwind summer, and it's not over yet. I'll keep you posted!