When I was 8-years-old, I asked for my parents’ permission to compete in the ‘Little Miss’ category of the Miss Iowa Scholarship Organization. They agreed despite their confusion at my interest as I was an incredibly bashful child. I remember being scared to death and practically running off the stage for almost every phase of competition. As you can imagine, I did not walk away with the title. However, what I walked away with was a newfound love for personal development and community service. When it came to developing my community service initiative, I knew I wanted it to be something along the lines of protecting the planet because: 1) I have always felt a deep connection to Earth; 2) I know the planet needs our help; and 3) I was already doing my part to protect it in my daily life. I began to brainstorm different avenues under this large umbrella of possibilities. I thought about focusing on plastic pollution or climate change, until I realized where my passion truly laid: Water. I thought, "duh! I have been overthinking this entirely. My initiative HAS to focus on water quality." I created Watersheds: Think Global, Act Local with a dream to provide all living things with adequate water quality. My initial focus is to improve Iowa's water quality through education and advocacy efforts along with empowering others by emphasizing the power individuals hold. Because we all live in a watershed, anyone can improve public health and water quality around the globe by doing their part locally. We are ALL connected so remember to think GLOBAL and act LOCAL. Since my Miss Scott County crowning moment in late August, I have completed well over 300 hours of service to improve the well-being of all Iowans and the environment as a whole. Being Miss Scott County has granted me some amazing opportunities that I truly could not be more grateful for. I have been able to reach a wide range of audiences through community outreach activities like speaking on television shows, podcasts, newspapers, and blogs just like this one! Read more about Brittney's water quality work, including a youth education curriculum she's created, her water quality monitoring project focused on the Mississippi River, what she saw while snorkeling in Ecuador, or volunteer events she's promoting during Earth month in her full story on IEC's Blog. |
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