
Miss Alderwood candidate: arts and crafts buff has plenty to smile about
Story by: John Panni
Date Published to Web: 8/13/2004
It is rare you'll ever see Andrea Martinez without a smile on her face. There is good reason because Martinez has plenty to be happy about these days. She has a spot she loves on the Alderwood High School cheerleading squad, she is involved with numerous school activities and taking up most of her time recently has been the Miss Alderwood program.Martinez, 16, is one of eight young ladies vying for the title of 2004-05 Miss Alderwood. The annual pageant will be staged Saturday, Sept. 18. The pageant will be held in conjunction with the community's Sunshine Days festivities.Martinez, a life-long resident of the area, will be a junior this fall at Alderwood High School. She is the daughter of MaryAnn and Joel Martinez. She is being sponsored in this year's Miss Alderwood pageant by El Valle Restaurant and Raquel's Hair Botique.For the past couple of years cheerleading has been at the forefront for Martinez. She recounted how she had wanted be a cheerleader ever since she was a little girl. Martinez said she can remember going to cheerleading camps as a little girl and always looking up to the older cheerleaders, wanting to be like them. This year marks Martinez's second season on the Alderwood High School cheerleading squad."It is great," said Martinez. "Being in front of the entire school you kind of get pumped. If you are pumped up, they (the crowd) are pumped."In addition to cheerleading, Martinez is involved with the high school Distributive Education Clubs of America and the Link Crew, which helps incoming freshmen make the transition from middle school to the high school. Martinez is also an honors biology student.Dancing is another hobby of Martinez's. Earlier this year, Martinez enrolled in jazz dance classes to help prepare her for the talent showcase at the Miss Alderwood pageant."I like it a lot," said Martinez.When she does have spare time, Martinez keeps herself busy with arts and crafts projects. She has been creating different arts and crafts projects since the sixth grade. Martinez found the fun side of arts and crafts when campaigning for a middle school class office. Martinez explained she utilized some arts and crafts projects for her campaign signs and her love of the hobby just took off from there."I have all kinds of things in my room," said Martinez. "You never get bored with it."The most difficult crafts project Martinez has started is a photo album. Smiling, she said it was hard for her to get it to look like she wanted.Martinez has long had a desire to represent the community on the Miss Alderwood court. Martinez said when she was younger she ran for the title of Little Miss Alderwood."It was a good experience," Martinez said.Her longing to compete for the Miss Alderwood title grew in many ways, from when she ran for Little Miss Alderwood, explained Martinez. She views her current quest as a valuable growing experience.Preparing for the Miss Alderwood pageant has been an interesting experience, so far, she said.One of the major perks of being involved with the Miss Alderwood program, said Martinez, is that it helps teach you about maturity and how to be a more responsible person."I am hoping I will grow a little bit more," said Martinez.Being a lifelong resident of the area, Martinez said she has always enjoyed Alderwood."I like the people," she said. "They are really friendly. They are giving and they do want to help you."If rewarded with a spot on the Miss Alderwood Court, Martinez would like to make the Alderwood Parks and Recreation Department her community service project."I would want to work more with the little kids," said Martinez. "That is where it all starts when you are little. It (the parks department) keeps you out of trouble."Martinez said she can remember as a small child having her interests piqued in cheerleading through the camps the parks and recreation department organized.Martinez describes herself as someone who is determined, funny and enjoys being involved. Martinez said she would like to take all of those attributes and put them to use if she was named to the Miss Alderwood court."I would want to be a good role model," said Martinez. "If (young children) see me as that way they would want to be like that."After high school, Martinez plans to attend college to study to become a teacher."I picked education because I like to teach," said Martinez.If Martinez is named to the Miss Alderwood court, she sees it as a dream come true, knowing all of her hard work paid off."I would see it as a privilege," said Martinez. "Miss Alderwood is not just something that is given to you."







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