Life has been busy as usual! In less than 2 months, Miss America 2012 will be crowned at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, live on ABC! Stay tuned for a video contest where YOU get to select an America's Choice Finalist! Make sure you vote for Miss Minnesota!

A new Autism Matters blog has been posted on the Autism Society of America website. I write regular blogs about my personal connection to autism. It's a great opportunity for me to share stories about my brother's and my very special relationship. Check it out! I have also been advertising Autism Society of Minnesota and Autism Society of America happenings on my Facebook fan page, so keep checking for ways you can support the cause! 

I continue to speak to Rotary Clubs, including Prior Lake Rotary Club last week, where I discussed issues related to Autism Spectrum Disorder and the school system, work place, and society in general.

I was recently invited to model in a fashion show for Fraser, an organization that helps people of all ages cope with the challenges of Autism Spectrum Disorder, at its annual gala at the Hilton Minneapolis Hotel. This year's theme was all about fashion and featured emcee Christopher Straub, Project Runway Season 6 contestant and local fashion designer, and gorgeous gowns sponsored by Glitz. I had so much fun at this event, especially because my Miss Minnesota sister, Miss Minnesota 2007 Jennifer Hudspeth, was there to share the experience with me! Fraser treated us like royalty, giving us a ride in a limo between the hotel and hair salon and feeding us a delicious meal donated by Jake's City Grille. Thank you to Level Salon and the Aveda make up students for donating your time and talents to make us all look stunning! Also thank you to Glitz Gowns for letting us strut our stuff in your beautiful dresses. The event was a huge success! To learn more about Fraser, visit their website, www.fraser.org.

I was so excited for the opportunity to meet with Governor Mark Dayton at his office to discuss the impact of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on the Minnesota community. Minnesota is number one in the nation for its high prevalence of autism. 1 in every 64 children is diagnosed with some form of ASD; this is higher than the national average of 1 in 110. As the fastest growing developmental disorder, it is expected to increase at a rate of 10 to 17 percent annually. This has enormous implications for our society as a whole as many of these individuals are reaching the age of employment. It is in our best interest as a society to help these individuals become contributing members of society. 

I met with Governor Dayton not only to give him the facts about autism prevalence, but also to promote important legislative action related to helping individuals affected by the disorder. One particular piece of legislation was the autism insurance reform bill, House File 204, that did not pass last year. Sponsored in the Minnesota State House by State Representative Kim Norton (District 29B), HF 204 includes coverage of the diagnosis, evaluation, and medically necessary treatments and therapies for ASD. Many states do not require private insurance companies to cover even essential autism treatments and services. Consequently, families often pay out-of-pocket for services that can cost more that $50,000 per year, that is, if they can afford it. Passing this bill this year is of the upmost importance because early diagnosis and intervention are key to helping individuals with ASD thrive in our society. By requiring insurance companies to cover treatments for autism, we are increasing the likelihood of individuals with ASD becoming gainfully employed, contributing members of society later in life.

Governor Dayton was extremely receptive to my message. He has offered to arrange for me to speak at a breakfast at the Governor's residence to legislators, lobbyists, task force members, and others in the political field connected to ASD to "light a fire" under the issue, as he put it. He also hopes to connect me with Representative Kim Norton so that I can help pass the important autism insurance reform bill this year. Governor Dayton also has a personal connection to ASD through his nephew, who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

On another thrilling advocacy note, I was invited to participate in a training video for Boy Scout troop leaders working with scouts with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other "neurobiological diagnoses." Filming happened today! It's amazing how serendipitous life can be! Right before I won Miss Minnesota, I met a woman named Mary Wangerin who happens to be a St. Olaf alumnus. Her son George is my brother's age, has Asperger's Syndrome, and is an Eagle Scout. Because of this chance meeting, my mom, brother, and I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in this training video, which will hopefully one day be distributed nationally to educate troop leaders about Boy Scouts with special needs. It was so special to hear Trevor's perspective on his Boy Scout experience. When asked what advice he would give to kids with Asperger's Syndrome who wanted to become Eagle Scouts like him, he said they should keep trying and never give up, just like the Little Engine that Could: "I think I can! I think I can!." Well said, Trev! A huge thank you to Mary for including my family and me in this advocacy project! I can't wait to see the finished product!

On a side note, I had my senior recital at St. Olaf College last week. Here is a little taste of my performance!

(850 miles)

Awesome Club was mellow but fun today! We enjoyed snacks as usual and transitioned to a discussion about "sportsmanship." The kids contributed ideas about what it means to be a good sport during games such as "not bragging if you win" or "not getting frustrated if you lose." The boys also engaged in crafts. We made turkeys in honor of Thanksgiving. They enjoy expressing their creative imaginations through crafts. We ended with a fun reprise of the game "Duck, Duck, Goose." The boys called it "Gravy, Gravy, Turkey." Everyone had fun playing the game because it gave them the opportunity to run around. We're all sad about not having Awesome Club next week but the kids are looking forward to Thanksgiving Break!


Written by Apoorva Pasricha, Edited by Natalie Davis

I drove 600 miles between Wednesday and Sunday of last week, traveling between Dassel, Mankato, and the Twin Cities area. I certainly love to keep myself busy!

On Wednesday night, I headed home to Dassel to take care of some Miss America paperwork, order plane tickets to Las Vegas, pick up some wardrobe, and watch The Grinch with my brother Trevor! Trevor's favorite topic of conversation as of late: Christmas. Trevor celebrates "Christmas in July" every year. This year, he was so excited for Christmas in July that he started watching Christmas movies in June. That Christmas cheer has sustained itself well into the next five months. Now, he makes lists of what he wants for Christmas, what he wants to get his family members for Christmas, and where he wants to shop for Christmas. Needless to say, he is VERY excited for Christmas to come!

The next morning, I had a photo shoot with the lovely Paula Preston at her studio in Minneapolis. Thank you Paula, David, and Rod for all of your creative vision with hair, makeup, wardrobe, and set. Stay tuned to see the Miss Minnesota Christmas card!

That evening, I headed to Hilltop Florist in Mankato for their annual pre-Christmas open house. I greeted customers at the door and sold my lullaby CD, Sweet Dreams, to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals (purchase your copy by clicking on the CMN Hospitals tab!). Hilltop Florist is a sponsor of the Miss Mankato Organization, supplying beautiful floral bouquets each year to the Miss Mankato award recipients. The Hilltop Florist shop is absolutely magical! Everywhere you look, there is a work of art. And, like Trevor, Hilltop Florist understands that it is never too early to celebrate Christmas! They decked the halls of their store with beautiful Christmas decorations and offered apple cider and hot cocoa to all of their guests. For more information about Hilltop Florist and its rich Mankato history, visit www.hilltopflorist.com.

After visiting Hilltop Florist in Mankato, I headed back up to Bloomington to visit with Don Baker of Don Baker Communications. I am pleased to say that Don is a new official sponsor of the Miss Minnesota Organization. He will be hosting a workshop at the Miss Minnesota contestant orientation in the spring. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Don over the years, and of all the advice I could give to contestants hoping to make it to Miss America one day, working with him is my number one recommendation!

On Friday morning, I attended a beautiful Veterans Day program at the Inver Grove Heights Veterans Memorial Community Center. I performed the national anthem at the beginning of the ceremony, and I was joined by other members of the official party, including Inver Grove Heights Mayor George Tourville, Governor Mark Dayton, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Senator Al Franken, Representative Betty McCollum, Representative Erik Paulsen, Representative Keith Ellison, a staff member who read a letter from Representative Michele Bachmann, Commander Ray Trebus (VFW), Lt. Col. John Morris, Commissioner Shellito, and  Maj. Gen. Nash. I have been told that my performance of the national anthem was aired on TV, so if anyone finds a link to a video, please send it to me! 

The Veterans Day program was inspiring. A topic brought up by many speakers from the official party that day was the importance of repaying our veterans for their service, particularly by ensuring that they have jobs and health care when they return home from overseas. My mom works with veterans every day as a medical doctor at the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud. She often comes home and shares incredible stories about the adversities our military men faced during their time overseas. My cousin, Commander Nicholas Dille, flew Black Hawk helicopters for the Air Force in South Korea. My uncle, former State Senator Steve Dille, worked as an animal veterinarian during the Vietnam War and helped a Vietnamese family immigrate to the United States so they could experience the same freedoms I am so blessed to have because of the sacrifices of our American servicemen. There are no words to describe my gratitude to the members of our Armed Forces who bravely stood at the front lines of danger to protect my freedom. THANK YOU for risking your life so that my family, my neighbors, and I could live free. God bless you!


Click here to hear Governor Dayton's keynote address.

On Friday evening, I drove the hour and a half down to Mankato for the Miss Mankato rehearsal. The 11 contestants vying for the title of Miss Mankato rehearsed their opening number and all areas of their competition. I thoroughly enjoyed the fact that I got to get my hands dirty at this pageant. I helped set up the judges table, string lights, give the girls advice about stage presence, fold programs, and more. For future reference to other locals, feel free to put me to work! I am here to help!

I spent the night at the Miss Mankato host hotel, Microtel Inns & Suites. Thank you for giving me a warm bed to sleep in and a great breakfast in the morning! 

On Saturday morning, I headed to River Hills Mall for an appearance with Jewels of Austria, which sells puzzle piece jewelry to raise money for the Southern Minnesota Autism Coalition. Thank you, Pat, for the beautiful jewelry gift you gave me, and God bless your grandson, Justin, who has an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

That afternoon, the Miss Mankato competition officially began at the Verizon Wireless Center with the contestant interviews! We had a great set of judges, which included the Mayor of Mankato, several former Miss Mankato titleholders, and several high-profile television anchors from KEYCTV and Twin Cities Live. Thank you for giving your time that day to help the Miss Mankato Organization select an excellent representative. Also, thank you for taking the time to give me a mock interview to help me prepare for Miss America!

After interviews, the judges and I headed to Olive's restaurant, which sponsored a delicious meal for us. I was asked by a number of people to pose in a photo with their babies. It's amazing how often that happens!

At 7:00 that night, the Miss Mankato pageant finally began. The theme of this year's pageant was "Happy Birthday Miss America!" to celebrate Miss America's 90th anniversary. Birthday cake was served at intermission; guests played pin the crown on Miss Minnesota's head; and the contestants danced through the audience to a birthday song for the final evening gown parade. 

My brother Trevor, who is the inspiration for my platform "Autism Awareness: The Missing Piece," appeared as a special guest, playing "Midnight Rhapsody" by Melanie Bober on the piano. He was a huge hit! And he LOVED being in the spotlight! When he came backstage right before he played piano, all the contestants were dressed in their evening gowns and they told him how excited they were to hear him play. A huge grin appeared across his face, and he looked at me and said, "They're going to think I'm cute!" Later, during the audience dance-off, one of the contestants got Trevor up from his seat to dance to the song "Happy Birthday" by the Ting Tings. He told me later that it was the best experience of his life; he had never danced with a girl before! It was such a special night for him. Thank you to the Miss Mankato committee for allowing him to share his gift of music and his sparkling personality with the Mankato community!

That evening, Kiah Bennet was crowned Miss Mankato 2012! She will be a great representative of the program this year! She has already begun feverishly working on her platform, which involves encouraging young women to be confident in themselves. Follow her on Twitter at MissMankato2012 and like her Facebook Page Miss Mankato 2012 - Kiah Bennet.






Also congratulations to....

1st runner up: Tylinn Fahrni
2nd runner up: Kaitlin Dahlquist


Miss Congeniality: Alicia Olson
Community Service Award Recipient: Chandra Dahlke 
People's Choice Award Recipient: Jessica Dreier
Non-finalist Talent Award Recipient: Bridgette Karl
Non-finalist Interview Award Recipient: Emma Ottoson and Chandra Dahlke

Thank you so much to the people of Mankato for welcoming me into your community with open arms. The Mankato community is exceptional for its dedication to service. I have never seen a town with so many charity events happening at one time! During the past year, I was able to jump into a freezing lake for the Special Olympics Polar Plunge, perform at MACS Nite to raise money for local Catholic schools, participate in the ABATE bikers' awareness parade, distribute Angie's Kettle Corn to fans at Vikings Training Camp, speak to civic organizations such as Sertoma and the Lions Clubs, and volunteer at Chile Fest for Vets & Rett. It was also so special to return to Mankato after I won Miss Minnesota because of everyone's excitement that Miss Minnesota came from their hometown! I am so thankful for the year I spent in this community.

I also have to thank the Miss Mankato committee for all the time and energy they put into making the program a success. Their hard work and dedication are the reason that the Miss Mankato Organization has so many community sponsors and contestants each year!

Two people I need to thank in particular:

Paul Finochiarro, the Miss Mankato Assistant Director,
     Thank you for helping me push my Miss Minnesota talent to the next level with your creative input. Thank you for sharing your time and talents with the Miss Mankato Organization. We are so blessed to have you!

Shelly, the Miss Mankato Executieve Director,
     You are the glue that holds this organization together. You are constantly brainstorming creative and innovative ways to push this program and the Miss Minnesota Organization forward. Thank you for being my Mankato mom this year and for all the time, energy, and passion you put into your service work to help young women grow and develop.

Thank you to the following Mankato businesses for sponsoring the Miss Mankato Organization. For a complete list of sponsors, please visit www.missmankato.org.

(600 miles)

Today was another eventful day at club. Snack time composed of the children throwing out ideas about what games to play. We played a game of Red Light Green light which the boys enjoy, especially when they try to catch each other movements during a red light. One of the boys introduced a new game to the group called Red Rover. The kids crawled on the ground as dogs in attempt to tag each other and send all the “dogs” to the “dog pound.” It was fun to watch the kids essentially play crawl tag as some even started “barking” to imitate dog noises. Finally, we spent the time playing a mellow version of Ultimate Frisbee with a toy. The boys like friendly competition a lot, therefore, they thoroughly enjoyed getting into teams trying to get the toy to the end zone. They were all extremely high energy today which made the games more exciting!

On November 2 and 3, I spoke at two more Rotary Clubs: Brooklyn Park Rotary and Plymouth Rotary. I enjoy shedding light on the Miss America Organization's dedication to service through its support of over 12,000 individual service platforms each year, like my platform of Autism Awareness, and through its national partnership with the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Thank you to everyone at Brooklyn Park Rotary and Plymouth Rotary who purchased my lullaby CD, Sweet Dreams, to support the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals! The proceeds of this CD go to children receiving medical treatment at Gillette Children's Hospital, where I volunteer weekly. To purchase a CD or make a free standing donation, visit my CMN Hospitals page.

After speaking with the members of Plymouth Rotary Club on Thursday, I met with Randy from one of our great Miss Minnesota sponsors, Water Billboards. Randy will be helping me with an autism awareness project for the spring. Thank you, Randy, for offering your quality, green products to be used to not only help the environment, but also to increase awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorder. I can't wait to design some fabulous "water billboards!"

On Friday and Saturday, I spent some quality time with the Miss Mankato contestants, rehearsing the opening number and getting ready for interview. Thank you to the Miss Mankato committee and to those who volunteered as mock judges that day for taking the time to hold a mock interview to help me prepare for Miss America! I am so excited for the Miss Mankato pageant this Saturday, November 12. We have a fantastic group of bright, beautiful and talented contestants this year. And...my brother Trevor will be performing as a special guest! It's going to be a great show, so make sure you come! For more information, go to www.missmankato.org.

On Tuesday, I had a fitting at Glitz Gowns at Mall of America for an upcoming fashion show hosted by Fraser, a program that provides support to individuals with ASD of all ages. Be sure to come support the cause on November 19! Glitz is also a fabulous sponsor of the Miss Minnesota Organization. Each year, the Miss Minnesota contestants have the opportunity to appear in a fashion show, which is recorded and replayed in their store (I saw myself on their store television when I was there the other day! So fun!). Thank you so much to Glitz for supporting two causes I care deeply about!

On Tuesday evening, I headed to David and Rod's house for another great mock interview. Thank you, David, Rod, Barb, and Ann for taking the time to help me prepare for the job of Miss America.

I have another busy week ahead! Stay tuned! And thanks for checking in!



(450 miles)