Keleigh Edwards
Liz Cochran
Liz Cochran is truly concerned with the “matters of the heart.” This 21 year-old beauty has not only found success in the arts and beauty pageants, but she has also used her Miss Alabama platform to increase cardiovascular awareness and disease prevention through her organization With Every Beat.
Liz began her mission of informing the young and old about the importance of cardiovascular help when her young dance instructor died due to a heart condition. This tragedy became very personal for Liz provoking her to do something.
After competing three years for the title of Miss Alabama, Liz Cochran finally won the title crown in June 2009. But after the death of her dance instructor, Liz’s focused quickly changed from becoming a professional dancer and becoming a one-time beauty queen to becoming a cardiologist. Instead of completely giving up her pageant goals and literally focusing on “matters of the heart,” Liz decided to continue with her beauty pageant ambitions and use the platform to increase cardiovascular awareness.
As a result, this Birmingham-Southern College senior began her mission by speaking at schools in her home state of Alabama, a state weighed down with the obesity crisis. At the schools, Liz stresses the importance of proper nutrition and exercise to students. Her theory is that if you teach them while they’re young, when they’re older, living a healthy habit will be a natural habit.
She also puts on dance showcases in which high school dance troops from the Jefferson & Shelby Counties of Alabama participate demonstrating the results of living healthy. During the event, she gives statistics on heart disease and how to prevent them.
But Liz still hasn’t stopped or slowed down. She has also launched a children’s book The Quest to a Healthy Heart, and her own website containing links to the American Heart Association, The Center for Disease Control and USDA Food & Information Center. Liz Cochran has truly followed her heart in turning tragedy into a life-long inspiration for living healthily.
Dr. Philip Edlin
Candida Desjardins
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (Newport Division) is solidifying America’s future by educating our young about the endless possibilities of having a career in engineering and science. Eliminating the gap between science and our youth is an imperative step in solidifying America’s future within the global economy.
With help from the Chief of Naval Operations, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division of Newport developed formal Mathematics and Science Educational Outreach Program. The mission of this program is to do the following: 1) increase student awareness of real-world science and engineering, 2) develop a pipeline of scientists and engineers for the future workforce, and 3) increase student and public awareness of Division Newport. But their main goal is to spark the interest of students in science and engineering solidifying a future career for them in the subjects of science and engineering. Statistics show that in Rhode Island alone only 3% of high school graduates choose engineering as a major.
What begins as simple experiments with sound, buoyancy and electromagnets can quickly turn into mentorships within the more complex subjects that use mathematics, chemistry and physics. Beginning with underprivileged students in middle school, the organization has become an integral step in all levels of education. This year, the Educational Outreach Program includes the following programs within partner school districts: Super Submarine Science (grades 2-5), After School Club (grades 4-5), Science and Engineering in Your Future (grades 6-8), Math Counts (grades 6-8), Real World: Division Newport Guest Lecturer Program (grades 9-12), Bring a Child to Work Day (ages 9-17), Bring a Future Engineer to Work (grades 9-12), Collegiate Engineer Tours (college students), FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) (grades 9-12), Sea Perch (K-12), and Undersea Technology Apprentice Program (grades 9-12).
Through this program, the award-winning Mathematics and Science Educational Outreach Program has reached over 4,000 students in the Rhode Island community in 2008. This success includes over 425 students during the annual Bring a Child to Work Day, 98 students during Bring a Future Engineer/Scientist Day; and 50 students during the Collegiate Tour. It also includes 72 Division Newport employees voluntarily judging about 1,100 student projects for eight regional Science Fair competitions. Such success has led to a RADM William Thompson Award for Excellence in Public Affairs in 2007 and in 2009 (for the second time in three years) recognition from the Navy Community Service of the Year Award in Personal Excellence Partnership (PEP). Recent external awards received by individual employees for their volunteer efforts include the John Chafee Humanitarian Award, the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Role Model of the Week, and the Daily Point of Light Award (Kevin O'Connor and Adam Macksoud). The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division’s Mathematics and Science Educational Outreach Program is surely solidifying America’s future, one child at a time.
Cynthia Caron
As the President and Founder of LostNMissing, Inc., Cynthia Caron volunteers 12 hours each day to guide families of missing people as soon as their loved one goes missing.
She seamlessly handles all the media, marketing and posting of information. Cynthia works directly with law enforcement, acting as a representative for the families. She also notifies the public of the missing person through the community by social networking. By stepping in and handling the media relations, this allows the families to focus on recovering their loved ones.
Since it’s incorporation, LostNMissing has helped recover a number of missing teenagers as well as adults. Unlike other similar organizations, LostNMissing fully utilizes all social networking sites. And with the help of her many followers, the missing alerts are distributed throughout the Internet.
Cynthia’s compassion is the driving force of the success of her organization. She is convinced that thinking outside the traditional channels of notifying the public of missing person information is what is setting her organization apart and truly making a difference in families’ lives. Because her organization is relatively small, it is able to provide a timely and personalized response to each family.
Under her leadership, Cynthia’s organization connects newly missing families with families who have already “walked in their shoes” through the experience of having a loved one missing.
Cynthia was also one of the top ten “Top Ultimate Volunteer” in America for the ABC show, “The View.”
Cynthia has channeled her natural compassion to be a formidable force in the mission of doing good for others and her hard work and devotion is worthy of this recognition.
COLLEEN BARRETT
Pauline Abeyta
Pauline Abeyta offers clothes to the homeless along with a healthy dose of compassion through the organization The Clothing Room. As a dedicated volunteer at The Clothing Room, Pauline has proved that community outreach is invalid without compassion and dedication.
Every week, Pauline assists needy families and the homeless in finding clothes to wear. Whether it’s for an interview or just something to wear for the day, Pauline understands the importance providing clothes and emotional support to the needy. Along with hanging and sorting clothes, Pauline helped create the foundation for The Clothing Room. What once began as a building with a dirt floor as turned into a department store where patrons can shop for free, which is important for the community of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
One of the poorest communities in the United States, Las Cruces’ poverty rates are above the national average. Therefore, it is very hard for single moms, unemployed families, and families earning only minimum wage to make clothes a main priority. Through the past 20 years, Pauline has helped solve the problem of poverty by making The Clothing Room a reality. Last year The Clothing Room helped over 4,500 people giving away 111,800 items.
After the founder passed away 3 years ago, Pauline made sure her dream stayed alive. Pauline is making sure no one has to live without clothes and a since of belonging. As one customer commented, "I walked out knowing someone cares."
Del Odle
Michaela Patoilo
At a young age, Michaela Patoilo has already made an immense impact on her community through spending her time improving local schools.
Michaela suffered a great loss when her 13-year-old cousin passed away due to heart disease. This loss fueled her desire to expand the American Heart Association’s efforts through “Jump Rope for Heart” in her schools. She began “Jump Rope for Heart” in her elementary school and didn’t stop there. As she moved on to middle school, she put together a team of her peers and together, with the supervision of their teachers, continued “Jump Rope for Heart”. This movement motivated three other schools in the area to follow their lead.
While this is a great achievement, this is not where Michaela’s volunteering subsides.
In order to obtain her Girl Scout Silver Award, Michaela adopted a third grade class that was lacking school supplies. She invested double the hours required in order to collect school supplies for the students as well as nearly 70 boxes of books for the charter school’s library. The students have more than enough supplies and the school’s students and faculty no longer have to go to the public library to check books.
Michaela volunteers her time simply because she wants to help to make the world a better place. This selfless devotion is why Michaela is a Daily Point of Light.