The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

Last Thursday, Miss Montana 2018-2019 came to the Big Sandy High School to give a presentation to the students. Her name is Laura Haller and she was very excited to speak to the school. Laura goes around the United States to visit several schools and share informative words. She came with pictures of her experiences, stories about her travels, and a good lesson to bring the students.

Laura worked very hard during the competition. Her talent was ballet dancing. She has had a passion for dancing for her entire life and has turned her passion into a career. Before she entered the pageant contest for Miss Montana, Laura was working on a cruise ship as the only female dancer chosen from a large competition.

Laura traveled and danced in over thirty countries. She said her time on the cruise ship was fun and also full of hard work.

When she was told that the Miss Montana pageant offers large scholarship money for education, Laura had to try. Even though Laura loves to dance, she is also passionate about medicine. Laura explained to the students how she is planning to go to medical school to become a doctor. During the pageant, Laura brought STEM (Science, technology, Engineering, Mathematics) to the program. She was recognized for her passion for dance and her passion for STEM.

During her presentation, Laura talked to the students about the importance of movement. She first told the students about physical movement. She explained how dancing is her way of physically moving and then asked the students what kind of physical movement they participate in.

Students' answers included walking, playing sports, bike riding, ect. Then Laura showed pictures of other countries movements. Movements including soccer, flamenco dancing, and bike riding. Her examples were well informative and enjoyable to learn about.

Finally, Laura talked to the students about the other definition of movement. She showed the definition, "a group of people working together to advance their political, social, or artistic ideas." She proceeded with telling the students about movements around the globe and encouraging them to start movements of their own.

Laura Haller seems to love having the title of Miss Montana 2019, and she is spreading her encouraging words around the United States.