|
Thousands of people watched as Haley O’Brien was crowned Miss Minnesota Teen USA 2010 on Sunday, November 29th in Burnsville, Minnesota. The seventeen-year-old “ginger” is proud to be one of the few redheads crowned as Miss Minnesota Teen USA and jokes about how she would love to have a redhead win the Miss Teen USA title. Haley is currently a senior at Minnetonka High School.
“I couldn’t have been more honored when they placed the crown on my head,” said Haley. “The crown represents such a legacy of wonderful young women. Plus, what girl wouldn’t want a glittering crown placed on her head?”
Haley is planning to attend St. Cloud State University this fall. She will be majoring in both broadcast journalism and meteorology in an attempt to pursue her life long goal of becoming a broadcast meteorologist. Haley currently works as the Minnetonka High School Morning Show weather woman where she is able to format a forecast and broadcast it every Friday morning to over 2,700 Minnetonka High School students.
In her spare time, Haley enjoys camping, hiking, snowboarding, fishing, and baking. She would love to become a part time chef. She explains that she makes one “killer German chocolate cake.” She is a frequent visitor of the Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota and a self-described “outdoorsman.” Haley also has two jobs, participates in the YMCA Youth in Government programs, captains her high school mock trial team, is a member of O.F.F.E.N.S.E (a foreign exchange student outreach program) and works as a camp counselor every summer.
As a second year member of the National Honor Society, Haley is frequently out volunteering in the community. She loves working with high school and middle school students in an attempt to encourage self-expression and acceptance. She recently worked at the Courage Retreat, a program which focuses on empowering seventh grade students to be who they are instead of conforming to “popular” standards set by others. Haley has worked as an actress for Homeward Bound Theater Company, an anti-alcohol, anti-drug outreach program targeting high school students that uses theater as its main form of communication. Haley also works closely with Feed My Starving Children, Toys for Tots, and Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child.
“I am just so excited to get out there and start meeting people from across the state and have this opportunity to work in the community. This is such a life changing experience and I am so thankful,” said Haley. “I am honored to represent the great state of Minnesota at Miss Teen USA. And who knows, maybe this year a redhead will walk away with the national crown!”
|
