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Beginning July 17 through the 23, Miss Western Fest 2010 Jennifer DeBlieck attended the 2011 Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes Scholarship Program. From interviews to formal meetings, Jen had the glamorous and exciting journey of a lifetime.
With 44 candidates from around the state all vying for the Queen of the Lakes title, DeBlieck had a full-time schedule including interviews with judges and a Meet the Candidates event, where candidates dress up in a costume that reflects their community or personality and give a one-minute speech about their community. Jen dressed up as a cowgirl and gave her speech about how Granite Fall’s annual Western Fest intertwines with the community.
On the first day, judges watched to see how well candidates mingled and interacted with each other without the girls knowing judges were present. Afterwards, they had an interview each day for four days in which judges would ask questions about how involved the candidates were in their communities, how they would best represent the Aquatennial, and if they would be able to take on the duties and obligations of becoming Queen.
“I loved being able to represent our community at something so large,” DeBlieck states. “Not many people know where our community is or anything about us, so it was so much fun to inform other people about us.”
Aside from interviews and meetings, DeBlieck was also busy attending other events the festival had to offer, such as the boat cruise of past princesses and queens. Being so busy with events all day for a full week, she admits that it got a bit exhausting.
“I was up by 5:30 every morning and didn’t go to bed until 11:00 at night,” DeBlieck explains. “I’m very sad to be done with it all now; it’s like that journey in your life is over.”
DeBlieck will be a sophomore this fall at Minnesota State University in Moorhead, where she is majoring in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and minoring in American Sign Language. She plans on becoming a speech therapist in a school setting after college.
Beginning July 17 through the 23, Miss Western Fest 2010 Jennifer DeBlieck attended the 2011 Minneapolis Aquatennial Queen of the Lakes Scholarship Program. From interviews to formal meetings, Jen had the glamorous and exciting journey of a lifetime.
With 44 candidates from around the state all vying for the Queen of the Lakes title, DeBlieck had a full-time schedule including interviews with judges and a Meet the Candidates event, where candidates dress up in a costume that reflects their community or personality and give a one-minute speech about their community. Jen dressed up as a cowgirl and gave her speech about how Granite Fall’s annual Western Fest intertwines with the community.
On the first day, judges watched to see how well candidates mingled and interacted with each other without the girls knowing judges were present. Afterwards, they had an interview each day for four days in which judges would ask questions about how involved the candidates were in their communities, how they would best represent the Aquatennial, and if they would be able to take on the duties and obligations of becoming Queen.
“I loved being able to represent our community at something so large,” DeBlieck states. “Not many people know where our community is or anything about us, so it was so much fun to inform other people about us.”
Aside from interviews and meetings, DeBlieck was also busy attending other events the festival had to offer, such as the boat cruise of past princesses and queens. Being so busy with events all day for a full week, she admits that it got a bit exhausting.
“I was up by 5:30 every morning and didn’t go to bed until 11:00 at night,” DeBlieck explains. “I’m very sad to be done with it all now; it’s like that journey in your life is over.”
DeBlieck will be a sophomore this fall at Minnesota State University in Moorhead, where she is majoring in Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences and minoring in American Sign Language. She plans on becoming a speech therapist in a school setting after college.
