About Andreia

Senior

Communication

**Minor:** Air Traffic Control, Applied Meteorology
**Hometown:** Kansas City, KS
**Career Goals:** To work for NASA, hopefully as an astronaut.
**Why I chose Embry-Riddle:** I had the opportunity to choose any school in the country to attend for free and I chose ERAU because I wanted to follow a different path than my family did. I also chose ERAU because it was a little too late to be a pageant queen.
**Internship:** Special Olympics
**Activities:** Eaglecast Weather Club, Sigma Sigma Sigma Sorority, Air Traffic Control Organization

So Long, Sayonara!

Posted on August 6, 2014 by Andreia

Last week (almost sadly) was my last week working in the Special Olympics office. It was a bittersweet moment but I was happy not having to get up at 7:30 a.m. 3 days out of the week and being there from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. I got a lot of experience interning for SOKS and also got to learn a lot about myself. I definitely did something I would have never gotten to do otherwise and very much appreciate those experiences.

Right now, I’m still working on a few SOKS assignments from home, in addition to the final paper I’ll submit about my internship. It feels so much better to work on my own schedule, one of the very things I’ll miss in the real world.

As time is nearing until the fall semester starts, I’m also working a seasonal job at Under Armour Factory Store in Kansas City, KS. It’s a great job and I’m enjoying it so much. I think I love it more because I work evening shifts and I can sleep all day. Plus I get a really awesome employee discount! I’m pretty sure I’ll come back to school with as much Under Armour as I have Tri Sigma shirts. Also, Under Armour may be signing Kevin Durant (OKC) for a $30 million/year deal. Apparently his contract with Nike expired last week and he missed the meeting to renew.

Under Armour’s new UA Women campaign is something I’m really hyped about. They’ve teamed up with Misty Copeland, Lindsay Vonn, Sloane Stephens and a few other women and come up with the “I Will What I Want” campaign. I love it. It’s empowering women to break beyond the standards and the stereotypes. I personally love Misty Copeland because I wanted to be a ballerina when I was younger. Copeland surpassed all odds and was even rejected at a ballet school. She was told her body, posture, and feet were wrong and not up to par. Now she is a soloist for the American Ballet Theatre. In 2007 she became the first black female soloist for the American Ballet Theatre.

Go to YouTube and search for “I Will What I Want” video starring Copeland. I’ve watched it maybe half a million times and I follow her on Instagram.

With this being my last week in Kansas City, I’m doing quite a bit but just enough to keep me interested. I’ll be flying to Columbia, South Carolina next week to stay with my dad before school starts. That, I’m SUPER excited about!! And then… FALL SEMESTER STARTS!!!! I’m soo beyond excited to start my SENIOR year and see all my friends and classmates again. August 25th can’t come fast enough!!

It’s a Slow Season…

Posted on July 8, 2014 by Andreia

The last few weeks have been not quite as busy as before. Now that the Summer Games and USA Games have ended, things are really starting to breathe around the office until fall sports begin.

Last week, I celebrated my 21st birthday in Seattle, WA. I had a TON of fun and got to do a lot of exploring around. Seattle is definitely looking like a hopeful place to start a career post graduation. I even got to visit the Amazon Headquarters and see a snippet of how things work.

At the Seattle Sea Wall near the Seattle Aquarium. It was such a beautiful day to be outside and enjoy all to offer!

A view of the Seattle Space Needle from the top of the Amazon Headquarters building.

My cake from some heavenly bakery in Seattle. Chocolate with cherry filling. I’m pretty sure I had a slice every night until it was gone.

The conclusion of Seattle’s Pride Week – Pridefest at the Seattle Center. We saw a couple get married, a bunch of crazy costumes, and other things that are better left unsaid. I also got my first “Seattle-Dog”, the best darn hotdog I’ve ever had!

Got to be the guest volunteer for ComedySportz Seattle. I never knew I was so good at improve comedy.

I couldn’t let the time go without showing my letters on the Puget Sound. Tri Sigma, Faithful Unto Death!

Since it has been a pretty slow week at SOKS (Special Olympics Kansas) and not much really going on, you can always check SOKS on Facebook (facebook.com/specialolympicskansas) for any upcoming events or just some good reads.

USA Games!!!

Posted on June 18, 2014 by Andreia

Right now, as we speak (well as I type & you read) 17 SO athletes are competing at the 2014 USA Games in Princeton, NJ. The games are held once every four years and it is such an accomplishment to be chosen to compete. Our athletes are competing with other athletes all over the country and have already done some incredible things. The games officially started on Monday and will continue through Friday (June 20). This week is actually not so bad since I get to sit at a computer all day and look through pictures. The only downfall to that is that the 2014 USA Games page has over 5000 pictures just in the Opening Ceremonies page. Believe it or not, The Big Show from WWE was a part of the Opening Ceremonies as well as Jane Lynch. WWE is one of the sponsors for the USA Games. There was a bunch of other famous people who did some kinda of something at the Opening Ceremonies but I have no idea who their names are.

You know how they say everything is better in Kansas? Well, it’s true. We birthed the now 2014 power lifting champion, Chevi “The Manimal” Peters. Chevi won gold, two silver, and bronze medals in power lifting already! Another athlete, Morgan Dias won gold in the 1500M and 800M. We were really close to having another athlete win gold in the 1500 but his score was disqualified since his final run was 25% or more better than his preliminary score. When I heard that this morning, I was completely mortified and heartbroken that someone’s skanky politics could take away a dream like that. I literally wanted to cry right then and there.

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Eric Kling, Gladys Figeroa, and Trevor Hallman. Each of these athletes participated in aquatics and place in the finals. Kling in 4th place swimming the 25YD Backstroke in 28.68 sec, Figeroa in 5th place at 34.13 sec, and Hallman in 2nd place at 20.01 sec. Congratulation to these wonderful athletes! #TeamKansas

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Chris Leon holding his flowers after winning 3rd place in the 1500M. His time was 9 min, 3.04 sec. Congratulations Chris! #TeamKansas

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Our ultimate powerlifting champion Chevi Peters. Chevi placed; 3rd in the male bench press with a score of 47.50, 2nd in the male squat scoring 92.50, second in male combo, and first in deadlift with a score of 132.71. Congratulations Chevi on such an accomplishment. #TeamKansas is so proud of you!

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Our soccer team defeated Team New York twice and are now 3-1!

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Morgan Dias (middle) won gold in the 800 M with a time of 9 min, 15.40 sec. Go Morgan! #TeamKansas.

The lighting of the cauldron during the Opening Ceremonies in Princeton, NJ.

In other news, my first press release is public! It was pretty hard adjusting to the style of writing here but it gets easier. Hopefully there will be more to come! Check out the link below!

http://ksso.org/_uploads/files/press/2014_hall_of_fame.pdf

KC Torch Run & Summer Games

Posted on June 7, 2014 by Andreia

All of the work I’ve done up to now has finally payed off. This weekend, the Special Olympic Summer Games is going on in Wichita, Kansas at Cessna Stadium. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to attend the opening ceremonies, but I’m still getting a lot of enjoyment from all the photos taken prior to. All this weekend, residents of the five different regions have carried their torches to the next region, ultimately arriving at Wichita for the Summer Games to commence.

For me, the highlight of all this is seeing the athlete profiles I wrote on the Hall of Fame inductees inside the actual program that EVERYONE received! Of course I had to get a copy of it for myself to keep, but that is freakin’ awesome!!!!

I just wish I would’ve gotten to see the opening ceremonies for myself, but I’m sure it was a great time.

You can also check out what’s going on via Facebook: @Special Olympics Kansas!

Local residents of Lansing, KS running the torch throughout the city.

CEO Chris Hahn (center) with an SO athlete and donor.

KC Torch Run. Olathe, KS was the first city this year to start the torch run.

Mission Accomplished!!!

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Andreia

So two days ago, SOKS was notified that Cessna would only be able to airlift 14 athletes to New Jersey for the USA Games. This left 17 other athletes without transportation. As we all know, plane tickets are crazy expensive, especially with the USA Games only two weeks away. Immediately, the whole office was in a frenzy, but we focused on the bigger picture – getting our athletes to USA Games.

This is the message we posted on SOKS Facebook page, that reached 5,536 people:

“Help our athletes and their bags get to USA Special Olympics Games June 14-21 in Princeton NJ. Originally scheduled for Cessna airlift, SOKS was notified just this morning that half the seats will not be available. We are having to purchase 17 commercial tickets to get our delegates to the games. These games are held every 4 years and are once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Can you help? Please click on the link and make your tax deductible contribution of any amount. Then, PLEASE consider sharing this on your FB page to help us spread the word. We know we can do this! Thanks…..”

By close of business on Wednesday, we raised $250. Through social media, myself and other employees of SOKS, helped raise $10,000 in 48 hours, as of 9 a.m. central time.We told our friends, we posted and shared on Facebook, and we reached out goal! Now all 31 Team Kansas athletes will be able to attend the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in the USA Games. What an exciting time to be a part of such a fantastic company!

#GoTeamKansas #USAGames #SOKS

Upcoming Summer Games!!

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Andreia

So as of now, I’m well into my internship. I’ve done so much already it’s hard to believe I’ve only been there just a few weeks. The first day, I made Facebook post the entire day. I couldn’t believe it. It was fun and enjoyable, I just couldn’t believe that was my job for the day.

A few week ago, Special Olympics Kansas (SOKS) went to GARMIN for a health fair to promote healthy communities. Believe it or not, it was only my 3rd day on the job and I was already answering people’s questions on “What is Special Olympics?”. I was in shock! So that day I got to get out the office and spend a few hours at a booth, promoting SOKS Midnight Run, and other healthy living choices.

Since the Special Olympics Summer Games is coming up on June 6th, every one is kicking things into gear. My highlight of the preparation was being able to write the opening ceremony script for the CEO of Special Olympics Kansas (SOKS). I wrote the scripts for the “Hall of Fame” winners and the “Make A Difference” awards. I even got to do a phone interview for one of the winners. It felt soooo good being able to do that. The CEO even took a look at my script & most of his changes were how we would say things. The Summer Games will be in Wichita, Kansas this year and I’m really pretty excited because I want to see Cessna stadium & all the Cessna stuff down there.

A couple of other duties have been: reaching out to athletic companies to advertise events, press releases, opening ceremonies scripts, and a WHOLE bunch of other stuff. I’m just glad that my boss is giving me REAL work to do that actually means something, and not something just to keep me busy. On top of all that, I still have time to watch Netflix when I’m not writing up press releases or doing social media posts.

I’m really pumped up for this internship and still can’t believe it… Until next time 🙂

Hello

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Andreia

Hi all my name is Andreia and I chose Embry-Riddle because I had the opportunity to choose any school in the country to attend for free and I chose ERAU because I wanted to follow a different path than my family did. I also chose ERAU because it was a little too late to be a pageant queen.

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