Saturday, June 11, 2011

Relay for Life and Kids Against Tobacco Film Festival

Today I made my last appearances as Miss Liberty prior to competing for the title of Miss New York 2011. My day started at my alma mater, Wagner College, for the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. I was the Team Captain for Silver Lake Specialized Care Center. The event did face some rain but that didn’t stop the celebration of survivorship.My second appearance was at Richmond University Medical Center for their sixth annual Kids Against Tobacco Film Festival. This is one of my favorite events to participate in because it shows teens understanding the message of saying no to smoking simultaneously giving them the opportunity to spread that same message to their peers. Kids from various public schools across Staten Island spent an entire year producing, writing, editing, and directing films that promote the anti-tobacco campaign. Every June those films are nominated for Oscar type awards that are presented at the festival. This was my third consecutive year acting as a presenter. Let me tell you…these were probably the best anti-smoking films I have ever seen! These kids truly outdid themselves. The work the produced was absolutely outstanding and I couldn’t be prouder. Joining me as a presenter was Miss Staten Island’s Outstanding Teen, Shreya Jain, and Miss Teen Earth Staten Island, Alexandria Robinson. A special thank you to Dr. Cynthia Wong, the director and founder of this event, for including me in the festival and for spearheading the tobacco prevention campaign at RUMC.


Mom and I
Dr. Cynthia Wong
A few students who participated in Kids Against Tobacco Film Festival
Miss Staten Island’s Outstanding Teen, Shreya Jain, and Miss Teen Earth Staten Island, Alexandria Robinson
Miss New York City Outstanding Teen, Shelley Jain