Miss South Dakota Month 6: The “Halfway Point”, hunting, and honoring veterans

November tested my ability to adapt.

From school visits, to photoshoots, to performing, back to school visits, to pheasant hunting, to local competitions, to putting on my own career planning conventions, to speaking with the governor’s staff, to a fancy party at a law firm, to the MACYS THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE, to changing flights an hour before takeoff, to driving 300 miles in a blizzard… it was a bit of a whirlwind and I am not referring to the blowing snow.

I cannot believe I am already half way done with my year as Miss South Dakota. Miss America is in just a few days and it feels like just a couple weeks ago I was crowned. Honestly I don’t even know where I was for fall because it’s winter now and I JUST put away my shorts and Birkenstocks.

Here’s to the latter 6. Coming at you Uncasville… Mohegan Sun, this South Dakota girl has you in her sights.

Miss South Dakota Appearances	Date	Mileage	Flying
Colombe	4-Nov	340
Boutique Shoot	5-Nov	20
Natl. Anthem College Basketball Game	5-Nov	20
Bison Visit	7-Nov	542
Hoven	8-Nov	253
Pheaseant Banquet	8-Nov	81
Pheaseant Hunt	9-Nov	30
Miss SDSU	10-Nov	189
Veterans Day	11-Nov	442
Mock Interview	12-Nov	399
Keloland Living	15-Nov	30
Super Saturday	16-Nov	30
Governor Meeting	18-Nov	448
Salon Vermillion	19-Nov	126
Rotary Club	21-Nov	400
Theta Soup & Sip	21-Nov	114
Rapid City Central	22-Nov	114
Beaujolais Celebration	22-Nov	30
West River Super Saturday	23-Nov	114
NYC PARADE	11/25-11/29	474	2749
		4196
	Total:	6945

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Miss South Dakota Month 5: Hobos, Halloween, and “HOW MANY MILES?!?”

October brought Hobo Day, over a dozen school visits, my Miss America Trunk Show, and Miss America Orientation.

The month brought many miles traveled, friendships formed, early mornings, late nights, and almost unreal moments.

Over 7,000 miles in a month. Over 20,000 miles traveled so far as Miss South Dakota. If anyone wants to know a good Christmas present- Vitamin C is a highly used commodity in my household.

Miss South Dakota Appearances	Date	Mileage	Flying
Hill City School Visit	2-Oct	373
Bennett County	3-Oct	155
Kadoka School	3-Oct	312
Boutique Shoot	4-Oct	20
SDSU Speech	4-Oct	58
HOBO Parade	5-Oct	15
Spirit of Dakota	5-Oct	202
Centerville School	7-Oct	82
Mount Vernon	9-Oct	172
Rutland	10-Oct	96
Trunk Show	12-Oct	802
Pheasants Forever	17-Oct	450
Salon	18-Oct	126
Dell Rapids	18-Oct	50
Orientation	10/20-10/24	452	2592
Alcester Hudson	25-Oct	96
Lake Loraine Halloween	26-Oct	30
Miss USD	27-Oct	126
Highmore Harrold	28-Oct	394
Doland	29-Oct	208
Watertown	30-Oct	30
Wolsey Wessington	30-Oct	286
Florence	31-Oct	248
	Total: 7375	4783	2592

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Miss South Dakota Month 4

State Fair	Sept 1-2	130
Career Success Advisors USD	3-Sep	65
Soroity Visits	3-Sep	65
Radio Interview	5-Sep	0
Boutique Shoot	5-Sep	10
Arlington School Visit	10-Sep	80
Hot Springs Stair Climb	11-Sep	403
CMN Golf Tourney	13-Sep	51
Hall of Fame Event	13-Sep	432
Garretson School Visit	16-Sep	425
Sioux Valley School Visit	16-Sep	132
SESHRM Meeting	17-Sep	10
Bowdle School Visit	18-Sep	323
Henry School Visit	19-Sep	212
Sioux Falls Community College	20-Sep	15
Ranch & Hills Trip (Miss A Video)	20-Sep	744
Stickney Corsica School Visit	23-Sep	230
Avon School Visit	24-Sep	236
Junior Achievement Call	25-Sep	0
	Total miles:	3563

September was a ride. So much so that I am still recovering and we are literally already halfway through October!! Starting off at the State Fair and ending with a weekend getaway, I traveled every weekend of my birthday month. From Huron to Oklahoma to Hot Springs to Virginia- I put on some serious mileage, but a lot of it was personal travel to celebrate my birthday. Highlights include being on stage with The Beach Boys, starting my school tour, filming for Miss America at the Outlaw Ranch, and attending the Miss South Dakota, South Dakota Hall of Fame Exhibit opening.

I never could have imagined how crazy this ride would get, especially now as I continue to chip away at my college class work while being Miss South Dakota.

But you can’t take life too seriously, as we never get out alive. Every adventure and sleepless night will be a story for the future and will bring me fond memories for the rest of my life.

Wake me up when September ends? Oh right. It’s October. Keep reminding me.

-Amber

Miss South Dakota Month 3

August was a busy month for me as usual. I spent much of the month working on my social impact initiative Operation Overload (www.OperationOverload.org).

I was also able to go to the Sturgis Rally, the first ever Miss South Dakota, Roselyn’s 90th Birthday Party, and the State Fair.

Some of my highlights include: “playing the guitar” with the Beach Boys, climbing a rock wall at Aurora Days, singing Man! I feel like a woman on Karfool Karioke, and speaking at the Governor’s Workforce Development Council meeting.

Close to 4,000 miles this month… that’s almost 15,000 already in three months. Check out the pictures from some of my adventures below.

EMBE lunch	1-Aug	57
Shoot with Vince	2-Aug	10
Aurora Days	3-Aug	120
Pilates	4-Aug	10
Podcast recording	5-Aug	10
Wynie Maes	5-Aug	130
Sponsor Shoot	6-Aug	10
Vermillion Meeting	6-Aug	130
Artisan Meeting	7-Aug	10
State Veterans Home	8-Aug	400
Gestring Call	9-Aug	0
Rally	9-Aug	106
Hippie Hole	10-Aug	70
Dept. of Labor Call	12-Aug	0
Pilates	12-Aug	10
Sponsor Shoot	13-Aug	10
Artisian Meeting	14-Aug	10
Hair Sponsor	15-Aug	130
Roselyns Birthday	16-Aug	784
FELS	17-Aug	572
Bisson Dental	20-Aug	57
Wilbert Square	20-Aug	10
Karfool Kareoke	21-Aug	10
CMN Sioux City	21-Aug	224
Student Coalition Call	22-Aug	0
EMBE Coffee	22-Aug	10
Sponsor Shoot	22-Aug	10
Boys and Girls Club	23-Aug	10
Artisian Meeting	23-Aug	10
USD Student Org Fair	24-Aug	130
Boys and Girls Club	26-Aug	10
CTE Academy Meeting	26-Aug	0
Volante Interview	26-Aug	0
Workforce Development Council	27-Aug	227
Bob Shoot	28-Aug	237
State Fair	29-31 Aug	130
	Total Number of Miles	3654

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Miss South Dakota Month 2

It is already been TWO months since I was crowned Miss South Dakota. July brought me progress in my social impact initiative, trips to the Black Hills, and all the way to Florida to watch Miss America’s Outstanding Teen and have my first ever meeting regarding Miss America 2.0!!

Here’s a little run down of what I accomplished:

CMN Meeting	20
Pool Party Ellsworth AFB	86
Spearfish Sasquatch Game	48
Belle Fourche Parade	14
Ranch Day & Badlands	86
Mt. Rushmore	72
Military Promotion	24
Eyelashes Sponsor	407 (Including drive home)
Nursing Home	62
YMCA Meeting	10
SD Clothing Meeting	10
Miss Siouxland Rehearsal	10
Meeting for Video/ Content	10
Skincare Meeting	10
Miss Siouxland	10
Tea Party	10
Payton’s Trunk Show	20
State Librarian Meeting	232
DOE DOLR and BOR Meeting	10
Hair Sponsor	267
Nail Sponsor	62
Black Swan Day	462
Little Miss Canton Interviews	40
Little Miss Canton	40
MAOTeen	3192
Omnitech Meeting	10
Brookings Radio	64
Car Repair Sponsor	5
Barb Harms and Ray Lunch	5
Bisson Dental	5
BHSU Call	64
	5367 Total Miles (2175 Driving)

OVER 5,000 miles in one month! It has already been such an adventure. Here are some of my memories from along the way:

Miss South Dakota Month 1

Hello Everyone- *brushes cobwebs off of this blog site*

It is good to be back in business, your Political Science Princess as always.

Since I last posted, a THING kinda sorta happened. A sparkly hat was placed on my head and a piece of fabric across my chest that reads “MISS SOUTH DAKOTA”.

Life has been just a little different since the evening of June 1st for me. So, if you’re along for the ride… here’s a little recap of my first month as Miss South Dakota.

Event	Date	Mileage Estimate
KSFY	3-June	120
Miss Nebraska	6-Jun	782
Hair Sponsor Visit	10-Jun	120
Powerhouse Podcast Recording	11-Jun	0
Pilates Sponsor Visit	12-Jun	20
Cuong Strong Sponsor Visit	12-Jun	10
PSE Podcast Recording	12-Jun	0
Dignity Statue	15-Jun	143
Pierre Photoshoot	15-Jun	314
Trappers Game	15-Jun	20
Keloland Living	17-Jun	20
President Gestring Meeting	19-Jun	120
NewsCenter1	20-Jun	395
Kathleens	20-Jun	40
Riddles Photo	21-Jun	40
Downtown Friday Nights	21-Jun	40
Kenadi’s Carnival	22-Jun	20
Deadwood Nights	22-Jun	30
Roselyn Meeting	22-Jun	20
Huron Radio Stations	26-Jun	128
Brookings Board of Regents Meeting	26-Jun	75
Junior High School Rodeo Volleyball	26-Jun	75
Huron Plainsman Story	26-Jun	20
Hot Springs Craft Fair Performance	29-Jun	422
Sturgis Camero Rally	29-Jun	108
Hot Springs Kids Fair Reading Time	30-Jun	108
	Total Mileage:	3190

Another year…

This semester has been absolutely RIDICULOUS, but amazing at the same time. I decided to make a little list of some of the things that I’ve been lucky enough to experience since January 1st.

1.) Spend New Years in Denver

2.) Horse Back Riding in the Badlands

3.) Attend Miss Rapid City, Miss Mitchell, and Miss USD

4.) Do some pretty amazing stuff with the University of South Dakota Student Government Association

5.) Get the cutest little in my sorority Kappa Alpha Theta

6.) See Old Dominion in concert

7.) Go to the USS South Dakota – SSN 790 Commissioning

8.) See my grandmother in Cape Cod

9.) Speak on Wake Up Vermillion

10.) Speak to over a dozen schools- close to 1,000 students all over the state

11.) Attend Miss South Dakota Organization Orientation

12.) Attend South Dakota Student Federation Meeting and Students for Higher Education Days in Pierre

13.) Travel to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and Grank Turk

14.) Put on the first ever Mr. USD

15.) Speak on the radio

16.) Attend Pi Sigma Epsilon Nationals and make top 36 in the nation (still in disbelief)

17.) Sleep in an airport

18.) Attend SGA Senator Retreat and hear Sheila Gestring, USD’s President Speak

19.) Attend a SERIOUSLY LONG SGA meeting (it’s for the students man!!)

20.) Travel way too many miles across I-90 and I-29

21.) Get admitted to the ER

22.) Establish my own non-profit company Operation Overload

23.) Spend a weekend with Megan Swanson and Jake Maslo for Powerhouse Pageantry

24.) Drink enough coffee and Dr.Pepper to probably kill most small animals

25.) Mostly importantly, meet so many other incredible humans on this crazy journey that is life. I love the busy, I love the grind, because it is when you are constantly out there that you make the most connections with others and impact others’ lives… in turn they also impact yours 💞

This next weekend I’m headed to see my grandparents in Florida and then there’s two weeks left of the semester! Miss SD paperwork is due on Monday and pageant prep has been in full swing for quite a while.

Thank you to everyone who has made these last few months a whirlwind. Thank you for dealing with my ups and downs, rants, and meltdowns. I am so so so grateful to say this is my life and I am continuously baffled and in awe of the things one human can accomplish in less than 4 months.

Here’s to 8 more, 2019. Keep it coming. 🙌🏼

End of an Era

November 2^nd-4^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 40117 Total)

Work, Halloween Parties, Old Friends, Good Times.

November 5^th-7^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 40117 Total)

SGA Meeting, Faculty Senate, Election Day, and Class

November 8^th Vermillion, SD> Brookfield, WI (500 Miles, 40617 Total)

Headed to Pi Sigma Epsilon Regionals

November 11^th Brookfield, WI> Vermillion, SD (500 Miles, 41117 Total)

Back to Vermillion with a Regional Trophy in hand.

November 12^th-19^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 41117 Total)

Classes, SGA, PIKE Dream Girl, Theta Formal, and WORK… then it was home for Thanksgiving!

November 20^th Vermillion, SD> Hot Springs, SD (479 Miles, 41596 Total)

Home to Hot Springs for Thanksgiving! I gave up my crown, got a puppy, and got my deer!

November 25^th Hot Springs, SD>Vermillion, SD (479 Miles, 42075 Total)

Back to Vermillion to finish the semester!

December 4^th Vermillion, SD> Aberdeen, SD (262 Miles, 42337 Total)

To Northern State University for the Student Federation and Board of Regents Meetings!

December 5^th Aberdeen, SD> Vermillion, SD> Huron, SD (432 Miles, 42769 Total)

Back down to Vermillion and then back up to Huron to speak to a school the next morning!

December 6^th Huron, SD> Vermillion, SD (170 Miles, 42939 Total)

After visiting with almost 300 children I was back to Vermillion for a short night.

December 7^th Vermillion, SD> Sioux City, IA> Chicago, IL> Baltimore, MD> Washington, DC (1261 Miles, 44200 Total)

One of the craziest things I have ever done- fly to DC in the middle of finals week for a Youth Leadership School.

December 10^th Washington, DC> Baltimore, MD> Chicago, IL> Sioux City, IA> Vermillion, SD (1261 Miles, 45461 Total)

And then it was back to Vermillion to take my finals and head home for the holidays.

December 12^th Vermillion, SD> Hot Springs, SD (479 Miles, 45940 Total)

I finished my last final at 4pm and got home late, but it was so good to be home.

December 17^th Hot Springs, SD (0 Miles, 45940 Total)

I was able to read and speak to the classrooms of my former elementary school teachers.

December 21^st Hot Springs, SD> Denver, CO (332 Miles, 46272 Total)

My mom and her friend took me on a girl’s trip to Denver for the weekend!

December 23^rd Denver, CO> Hot Springs, SD (332 Miles, 46604 Total)

After fun weekend we were headed back to Hot Springs!

December 30^th Hot Springs, SD> Denver, CO (332 Miles, 46936 Total)

Another last-minute adventure back down to Denver for the New Year!

January 1^st Denver, CO> Hot Springs, SD (332 Miles, 47268 Total)

Back to Hot Springs and back to reality.

In the past year I have traveled 47,268 miles. I have kept up with this blog for an entire year- and what a crazy ride it has been. 2018 made me feel on top of the world while also knocking me on my butt a few times. I ended this year with a 4.0 GPA in school, a circle of true friends, plans of many projects for Miss South Dakota, possible internships and travel opportunities, and more people in my life than I can count that have supported me and loved me through it all this year. Here’s to another one.

and then God said, “Actually, nope.”

September 17^th-September 20^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 34849 Total)

Classes, Theta meeting, High Howlers, and SGA!

September 21^st Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 34849 Total)

My acapella choir sang at the USD Music Festival and then I went to the Med School Formal!

September 23^rd Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 34849 Total)

PSE Potluck and Miss SD 101… I made cookies!

September 24^th-27^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 34849 Total)

Miss South Dakota 101 Session #2, Sorority Meeting, Classes, SGA, High Howlers, PSE… another normal week of college!

September 28^th Vermillion, SD> Lower Brule, SD… and back (428 Miles, 35277 Total)

Chris Skunk and I drove to Lower Brule to speak at the Lower Brule High School!

September 29^th Vermillion, SD> Urbandale, IA (232 Miles, 35509 Total)

I drove to Iowa for my photoshoot the next day.

September 30^th Urbandale, IA> Vermillion, SD (232 Miles, 35741 Total)

My Miss South Dakota Photoshoot in Iowa and then the school talent show! We got 2^nd place!

October 2^nd Vermillion, SD> Rapid City, SD (391 Miles, 36,132 Total)

Josh, Maddie, Matt, Chris, and I made the trek to Rapid to the School of Mines to attend the Student Federation Meeting and the Board of Regents Meeting.

October 3^rd Rapid City, SD> Vermillion, SD (391 Miles, 36523 Total)

We trekked back to Vermillion after the BOR meeting!

October 4^th Vermillion, SD> Sioux City, IA> Chicago, IL> Norfolk, VA (1402 Miles, 37925 Total)

A long weekend away…

October 5^th Norfolk, VA> Williamsburg, VA> Richmond, VA (96 Miles, 38021 Total)

I met up with my boss from the summer, visited William and Mary Law School, and then Chris and I went to an Old Dominion Concert! They were incredible.

October 6^th Richmond, VA> Norfolk, VA (93 Miles, 38114 Total)

Back to Norfolk for a more leisurely day.

October 8^th Norfolk, VA> Philadelphia, PA> Chicago, IL> Sioux City, IA> Vermillion, SD (1553 Miles, 39667 Total)  

Back to Vermillion for classes!

October 9^th-15^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 39667 Total)

SGA, High Howlers, Classes, working, and meetings!

October 16^th-19^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 39667 Total)

Classes and life crises… sometimes the hardest moments in life teach you the most and push you back onto the right path.

October 20^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 39667 Total)

I was in the ESA She Said Yes to the Dress Event for Cancer Research! My mom came out to see me as well!

October 21^st– 24^th Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 39667 Total)

A choir concert, a candidate forum, SGA, a double ear infection… classes, normal student stuff!

October 25^th: Vermillion, SD> Tea, SD…and back (110 Miles, 39777 Total)

After going to class and attending my business fraternity meeting I was able to shoot up to Tea to watch the Bison play in their playoff game.

October 27^th Vermillion, SD> Huron, SD…and back (340 Miles, 40117 Total)

I woke up at 3am and drove three hours to Huron, worked at the Women’s Expo, drove three hours home, took a 45 min nap, and worked at Lyle’s until 2am.

October 28^th– November 1^st Vermillion, SD (0 Miles, 40117 Total)

Another week of school- except I also got a free trip to the hospital (my immune system was crashing) Classes, SGA, High Howlers, sorority photos, and pulling my life back together.

The last month of my life has been filled with the loudest laughs, saddest sobs, and seriously stressful situations. I have learned more about life in the last month than I ever thought I would. Honestly, sometimes you are heading down a certain path and I believe God kind of just went, “Actually, nope” and picked me up and plunked me down in a totally different direction. And that’s okay. Sometimes you need a reality check and a change of scenery. It has challenged every thread of my being and every principal in my soul, yet I have walked away a stronger, humbler, and more grounded person. Keeping busy keeps me sane even when it’s completely insane. During hard times you find your real friends, what is important to you, and what you truly want in life. It’s been a little rough getting here, but I honestly couldn’t be happier. Here’s to a successful finish to the semester!