What do you get when you combine sharks, Top Gun, and wrestling? A freakin’ awesome Miss COED 2017 contestant, that’s who. The 20-year-old sophomore at the University of Texas at Arlington is studying Nursing and Spanish and apparently is a BAMF on the side. That’s not to say she doesn’t have a softer side, though too. Emily recently joined Love Your Melon, an organization on campus that raises money and beanies for children with cancer. COULD SHE BE ANY MORE PERFECT?!
Get to know more about her below, and be sure to check back daily as we get to know each of our Miss COED 2017 contestants a bit better.
If you could travel anywhere in the world for Spring Break, where would you go?
I would go to the Bahamas because I really want to swim with stingrays, sharks, and dolphins! I think it would be beautiful!!
Who do you look up to the most and why?
I look up to my mom and my stepdad the most. My mom is such a strong and loving woman. No matter how many times I mess up, she is always there for me. My stepdad raised me. He took me in even though I wasn’t his, and that means more to me than he could ever know. I am so lucky to have both of them as parents.
Name one thing on your bucket list.
To be Maverick from “Top Gun.”
Give your BFF a shoutout! What’s his or her name and how long have you been besties?
My best friend’s name is Lane Bogy (@lanebogy). We have been friends since freshman year of high school, so six years. He has been there through everything, and I love him for that!
Do you have any secret talents?
I sing and I wrestle. I know [they are] two very different talents, but I love both and I enjoy doing both.
When she’s not swimming with dangerous fish and beating people up, Emily is saving the world. (Be still my heart).
What exactly is Love Your Melon, and how did you first get involved?
Love Your Melon is an organization that donates half of its proceeds to pediatric cancer research, and I got involved because my friend asked me to go to a meeting one day. I had nothing to do, so I said yes and I fell love with the cause!
What compelled you to help with this organization as opposed to another cause?
I’m not big for organizations on campus, but this was a brand new one and I kind of wanted to get started at the very beginning of one. I love the fact that they give half of its proceeds to pediatric cancer research because I have a baby girl that goes to my church who was actually diagnosed with cancer about six months ago; it’s very close to my heart.
How often do you volunteer?
We have meetings every week, and right now since it’s the beginning of the organization, we have just been promoting.
What do your tasks include when you volunteer?
So far, they include taking a ton of pictures and posting them on social media and getting to know all of the crew members.
How can people get involved?
If you want to get involved, you should find your crew or even start one on the Love Your Melon website. You can create a crew or you can just sign up with one by giving them your email and your phone number; it’s pretty simple.
Tell me anything else you’d like our readers to know about LYM!
One thing I really love about Love Your Melon is that we actually get to hand deliver beanies to kids in hospitals. We have the opportunity to put a smile on their face, which I am looking forward to so much. We’re looking to get our numbers up, so if anyone wants to buy something, make sure you check out with UTA and that will help us in our crew. Also, Love Your Melon was started by college students as a business project, so that’s really cool to think that someone my age started this a couple years ago and now it’s big.
