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My name is Kimberly Sanguinedo. I am nineteen years old and an alumnus of Saint Joseph By the Sea High School. While I was in high school, I was a member of the crochet club, I was also a senior sister helping the freshmen feel more at home in the “Sea” community, I was a Sea Viking football cheerleader; I also helped volunteer for my high school and participated in other clubs and activities. I am currently attending and finished my first year at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, New York, in hopes of becoming a Nurse Practitioner. While at Mount Saint Mary’s College, when I have free time in between my studies, I volunteer at a local soup kitchen by helping serve food to members of the community that are less fortunate.Outside of school, I have been a volunteer for six years with Community Health Action, an organization that hekps provide meals for families in Staten Island affected by AIDS. My Uncle Walter Stojanowski, who has been a volunteer with this organization for the past twenty years, and I help deliver baskets of food for the holidays to families in need. After training my dog to become a registered therapy dog, I became a member of Therapy Dog International (TDI), Inc. By doing this, I am able to visit nursing homes and hospital patients to help provide emotional therapy by uplifting the patients overall mood. I am also a volunteer for Pet Lovers Untied Together as One (P.L.U.T.O.), this organization helps rescued dogs and cats find loving homes.My father’s grandparents came to America from Spain and my mother’s father and grandparents came from Poland. My father, a deceased New York City Firefighter, and my mother were both registered nurses, so I guess one could say that it is in my blood to become a nurse. I am also proud to say that I am a 2008 debutant with the Kosciuszko Foundation.Since I was born, I participated in the Pulaski Day Parade. My first years I was carried by my family members, then eventually started marching every year up Fifth Avenue. Every year, before the parade, my three brothers, my uncle, and I go shopping for food and prepare the meals that are served after the Pulaski Parade at Saint Stanislaus Church. I also go to greenside Up Tree Nursery with my Uncle Walter to pick up the donated flowers and plants that decorate each of the tables every year after the parade. My family has always been active to promote Polish pride, leading me to have an extreme sense of pride in myself and in my nationality.
My name is Victoria Marie Zawisny and I am currently 21 years old. I am a junior at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York and have a 3.51 GPA. For the past three years I have been on the Dean’s List. I am majoring in nursing and plan to further my career by going to graduate school to become a nurse practitioner. My decision in becoming a nurse was derived from several aspects of my personal life and background. I was born into a Polish-American family that has always been actively involved in the community and has exemplified service onto others. My mother and my father in particular have instilled in me both a drive and an innate commitment to service. As a daughter born to Polish immigrants, I have developed a deep appreciation for my culture. Since I could remember, I have attended the Polish Day Parade and many functions celebrating my Polish heritage. I also was very fortunate to attend 8 years at the Henry Sienkiewicz Polish School where I was further taught the language, culture, and history. In 1995 I was selected to be Junior Miss Polonia of South Brooklyn which was one of the happiest days of my life. Also another memorable event was when I had the privilege to be a debutante in 2005 for the Kosciuszko Foundation. I treasure my heritage, I take pride in it and I enjoy every occasion to celebrate it. My involvement within the Polish community was never motivated by any kind of personal gain or recognition – rather it has been about remaining true to my grandparents and personifying the daughter my parents raised me to become.At a young age, I developed a profound appreciation for giving back to the community. From 2005 to 2007 I was an active member of the American Teen Cancer Society where I raised awareness, obtained donations and organized a fundraiser. From 2007 to 2008 I volunteered at the Institute for Basic Research in the department of Developmental Disabilities. There, I closely worked with the late Dr. Wisniewska who was also a great inspiration to my life. Also, during this time I volunteered at Lifestyles for Disabled where I closely worked with disabled adults performing daily activities with them. From 2009 to present, I have been volunteering my time with Meals on Wheels where I deliver hot meals to the elderly who have difficulty getting out of their own homes in the Staten Island community. To me, the volunteer work I have engaged in has been enormously rewarding. You cannot put a price tag on the smile of another human being in need and the expression of true gratitude on their face when they realize that someone is there who truly cares and wants to help.I would be very honored and proud to represent Staten Island’s Miss Polonia 2010. It has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl. The characteristics that I have acquired through my life such as being hard working, giving, and compassionate are what I believe Miss Polonia should represent. The spirit of Polonia is brilliantly alive in me, and I am elated to know that I have the chance of possibly being Miss Polonia.
