MISS PENNSYLVANIA VISITS HER FORMER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MISS PENNSYLVANIA VISITS HER FORMER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Talks About Perseverance & Pursuing Your Dreams ox Chapel Area FOX CHAPEL AREA SCHOOL NEWS
Never give up on your dreams . Miss Pennsylvania 2016 and Fox Chapel Area High School graduate Samantha Lambert knows the meaning of putting your heart and soul into accomplishing your dreams , even through adversity . During her sophomore year in high school , the honor student and gymnast was injured during gymnastics practice – and that injury threatened to end her dreams . She shared her story of courage , determination , perseverance , and ultimately success with Fairview Elementary School third , fourth , and fifth graders during an October visit to her former elementary school . The visit kicked off an introduction to the students about the new Fairview Student Government which is being formed .
Fairview teacher Mary Jo Bisceglia introduced Samantha , a 2011 graduate , at the assembly and told the students that she remembered where her former student sat in her fourth grade classroom . She said she still has a photo of Samantha and her class on her wall . “ I remember she had curly hair . And she had the biggest smile and was always kind .” Ms . Bisceglia said . “ She was beautiful because of her heart .”
Samantha told the students , “ The wonderful teachers at Fairview made me who I am .” She shared with the students that in her fourth grade journal she listed her strength as kindness and her worst quality – “ I was shy , which I still say .” Additionally , even in the fourth grade she knew that she loved math and science , and by the time she was in high school , she took classes that would prepare her to become an engineer .
She also loved competing in gymnastics . However , during her sophomore year at Fox Chapel Area High School , she was injured during gymnastics practice . Though she was sent home from the hospital emergency room that same night , the next day Samantha passed out at school and was diagnosed with a head injury . It was then that she was told she would have to give up competitive gymnastics .
16 Fox Chapel Area
Following her injury , doctors were not optimistic that she would be able to withstand the rigors of her academic schedule , which threatened to end her dream of studying engineering in college . Samantha said that she continued to be sensitive to light and noise and could not attend school full time . She had to cut back on her schoolwork and missed more than 200 days over the next two and a half years due to the effects of her injury . However , through it all , she was able to graduate on time . The following fall she went to Georgia Tech , but she soon realized that she was not ready for the transition to a full-time college schedule , so she postponed her studies , and the next year transferred to the University of Pittsburgh .
Samantha said she first began considering competing in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant at age 20 when she saw that two of the finalists in the national Miss America competition that year had similar interests and career goals as she had – one worked for Google and the other was aspiring to become a doctor .
Never give up on your dreams was the message Miss Pennsylvania Samantha Lambert shared with Fairview Elementary School students . The visit was part of an introduction to the third , fourth , and fifth graders about the formation of the school ’ s new student government .