chanel & muckboots

My name is Julia. I am 22 years old I have suffered with a learning disability that makes it hard for me to understand things and communicate with other people.  This challenge has given me severe anxiety and depression for the greater portion of my life. I was bullied a lot through school.  Kids knocked me down and would tell me I was fat, ugly, retarded, never going anywhere with my life, and so much more.

More than once, I wanted to end my life.

I was homeschooled for most of high school and I spent most of my time with my Grandmother.  Those who know me know my Grandmother was my whole life. She passed away my senior year and it took a tremendous toll on me. Somehow, some way, I found the strength and decided to go back to school. 

I got into college and my first semester was great!  The second semester rolled around and three more family members had passed away.  My depression began to get worse again and I decided to take some time off of school to figure out what I wanted to do. I am so happy I did.

Today I am a cosmetologist with a great job supported by my amazing coworkers. I have a beautiful group of friends who all go above and beyond to make each other laugh and feel good about themselves. I have my mom and my sister who have never left my side. They are always my biggest fans and always help pick me up when I’m down. 

I am sharing my story because I’ve been seeing many beautiful souls take their lives because of people who are mean – even brutal. These bullies do not (or will not) open their minds and realize that words hurt! My mission in life is to help people feel beautiful inside and out.  I want to help anyone who is having a hard time understand that one-day it WILL BE okay and you will find your way! You will love life and you will understand why you are important to the world.  Everyone is important! You are Worth it! You are Strong. You are Powerful.

Gisele Barreto Fetterman is an access and equity advocate, a hugger and the Second Lady of Pennsylvania. She is the founder of Freestore 15104, where surplus and donated goods are received and redistributed to neighbors in need. The Freestore aims to eradicate food and clothing insecurity and has inspired 9 spin off locations and the birth of 412 Food Rescue. Gisele is the co-founder of 412 Food Rescue, a community wide effort to end hunger and reduce food waste. 412FR has rescued over 8 million pounds of food. 

She is co-founder of For Good PGH, a non-profit that works to advocate inclusion and inspire kindness. Its first initiative, Hello Hijab, has received both national and international praise. Gisele was born in Brazil and emigrated as a child to the US, living as an undocumented immigrant for over a decade. Her work has been featured in the TODAY Show, CNN, NPR and more. Gisele is a Forty under 40 honoree, a Tedx Speaker a Jefferson Awards recipient and a mother of three.

After an early work life of commercial fishing on the east coast, Bridget has had a lifelong career with animals. She started working with Hunter / Jumper horses working for notables such as Tiffany Teeter (Traurig) and Harry Duce, in Bucks County, PA. 

Her 25-year career in dogs started when she started worked with top professional show dog handlers Greg and Kim Strong. Bridget started as a show assistant and quickly moved to obedience training and then to kennel manager. After several years with Greg and Kim, Bridget chose to apprentice with Mary Williams at High Tide Kennels to learn more about retriever and gundog training. 

From 2001 to 2008 Bridget worked with DeCoverly as Kennel Manager and Trainer. During this time she also apprenticed in the DeCoverly breeding program. She left DeCoverly for two years to pursue working with retrievers on the Eastern Shore at Delmar Waterfowl. 

Today, Bridget is now back at DeCoverly running the kennel, managing the English Setter breeding program, and overseeing all of the training programs DeCoverly offers. Bridget also teaches retriever training classes in addition to training retrievers for the AKC hunt test program.

In Bridget’s spare time, she breeds Labradors and participates in AKC Retriever Hunt Tests. She has titled numerous dogs through the Master level and will have two dogs running in the 2019 Master National in South Carolina.

#decoverlyenglishsetters #rymansetters #decoverlykennels #AKC #AKChunt #hunting #gunmagazine #westminsterdogshow #bosstrainer 

Ms. Pennsylvania America 2019 is Dr. Mahima Singh. She is a Dental Surgeon(DDS, BDS),  former Dental Director at Volunteers in Medicine in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. She is also owner and CEO of a brand new all natural skincare line- Pink Monkey USA, Junior Diploma holder in Kathak form of Indian Classical Dance & Junior Diploma in Hindustani Classical Vocal. When she’s not volunteering, she’s running around with her four children and two Irish Wolfhounds. Her platform is Oral Cancer and oral health awareness.

“I fought being labeled ‘beautiful’ all my life considering it a shallow presumption or summing up of my personality until I started ‘losing’ the physical beauty because of age, pregnancies and my own lack of attention to my physicality. I sent in my application for the Ms Pennsylvania pageant just because of the challenge of doing something new and to stay afloat with a distraction during my mom’s sickness. I was happy to be crowned when I had lost so much hair and am 2 dress sizes bigger than my baseline, thereby proving my eternal belief that beauty is always what beauty does, winning the crown for my qualifications, communication abilities and inner qualities set me on a path of finally not fighting the ‘beauty’ label but owning it. It validated me at age 44, as a strong, independent career woman, wife, mother, leader. Most importantly, I was good enough just as I am, with all of my life’s battle scars.”

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Spokesperson and volunteer dentist at the Mission Of Mercy in PA event where we provided free dental treatment to about 2000 people in 2days, doing about a million dollars worth of dentistry, Supported local soup kitchens as the main organizer & chairperson holding a cultural event that raised $4000, Many hours of dentistry every week as a volunteer dentist and as former Dental Director at Volunteers in Medicine, Ran free oral screening event in the community, Creating awareness about Oral cancer and oral health through online platform Mundaii (published article)

SPECIAL AWARDS  /  RECOGNITION / ACHIEVEMENTS: Outstanding Volunteer Dentist award 2016, published article on Oral Cancer Risks for Generation Z on Mundaii,  Distinction in 1st year and graduated at the top of the class in Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Miss Fresher, 1st yr Bachelor of Arts- Philosophy Honors, Miranda House, Won many awards in school for extemporaneous speeches.

Born in 1994, Rose Daniels lived a suburban life in Long Island, NY after facing some hardships in her early childhood. Despite the circumstances, she is a caring, honest, humanist bringing wisdom, humour and creative inspiration. Her mission is to break barriers of race, status, and class by promoting peace and creativity; encouraging her fellow generation of artists to be everything that they can be. Hoping to invite in the era of art and love to the spotlight while shedding light on the darkness of today’s coldness, and reality. Looking for solutions and medicine through music and poetry, She loves children and art simultaneously and aims to eventually open a center of arts for children, teens and adults.

Website & Facebook
Lwsoc.org/yas
Facebook.com/youthadvocacysquad
Email
Art and poetry [email protected]
Advocacy and youth engagement [email protected]

Sarah Russoniello has risen from the ashes time and time again. 

Sarah’s darkest times found her homeless living out of her car thousands of miles from Northeastern Pennsylvania, eating whatever food could be salvaged from the local grocery store dumpster.  This was after ending an abusive relationship.  Soon thereafter, as single mother of a beautiful baby girl, Sarah clawed her way towards a better life for her and her newborn daughter.  Working two and often times three jobs at a time as well as attending college, Sarah kept her focus on her goals and providing the best life possible for her daughter.  

Having always found kinship and comfort in horses as a child and young adult; struggling with learning difficulties herself in both reading and ADD, Sarah had always dreamt of sharing the comfort she had found in horses with other individuals who faced the same difficulties.  In 2013, Sarah achieved her certification as a therapeutic riding instructor.  Here, she could assist other individuals facing challenges achieve independence and solace through equine facilitated learning and therapeutic horseback riding.

Today, Sarah is founder and Executive Director of Serendipity Therapeutic Riding, a non-profit 501(c)(3) facility located in Northeastern Pennsylvania.   Sarah is a proud mother to an amazingly compassionate, fearless, independent teenage daughter.  Serendipity is home to 8 incredible (rescued) therapy horses, 4 chickens, 4 felines, 2 super cute lady goats, and a feisty little (rescued) dog. 

Sarah’s philosophy on life, limits, stumbles, and falls mirrors riding a horse: Chin up, heels down, eyes ahead and never, ever give up!  

Facebook:  Serendipity Therapeutic Riding Center