Bay Path University

5 Growing up in the small town of Bakersfield, Vermont, Alayna remembers the day a former Miss Vermont came to her elementary school. "She let me wear her crown," Alayna remembered. "I said to myself—I want to be Miss Vermont." But that wasn't her only goal. "I had a science teacher when I was in the fifth and sixth grade who was a wonderful example of what is possible. First, she made science fun. Second, she believed in hands-on activities as a way to learn about how our world works. Third, as a woman, she showed all of the young girls in the class it was OK to love science." Math and science came naturally to Alayna, and she excelled in both. A first-generation college student, Alayna decided to go into the emerging field of forensics. Narrowing her choice to two colleges, she selected Bay Path. "I came to the accepted student event and met President Leary and that was it for me. I felt I belonged here." Majoring in forensics with minors in chemistry and math, her classes were challenging and, more important, gave her a true perspective on how her future career worked in tandem with the legal and criminal justice sectors. Alayna also took full advantage of the opportunities that came her way as a Bay Path student by attending the Women's Leadership Conference and participating in the Capitals of the World trip. "I had never been outside of the United States, and here I was in China walking on the Great Wall. It was remarkable. In so many ways, that trip gave me confidence." A confidence that would be helpful for things to come. "At Bay Path, I did two internships. One was with the 'Partnership in Scientific Inquiry' program teaching science to kindergarten, first, and second graders. The other was in the offices of the State Medical Examiner of Vermont. It was my 'ah-ha' moment. I found my life goal—to be a pathologist and medical examiner." Returning to Vermont after graduation, Alayna enrolled in a post-baccalaureate program at the University of Vermont in medical laboratory science and began working as an autopsy technician for the state examiner, as well as a medical technologist. She was well on her way with one of her goals, but she still wanted to check one more thing off of her list of aspirations: Miss Vermont. "I had entered the Miss Vermont competition before, but was never selected to wear the crown. The truth is, by entering Miss Vermont I had the possibility of winning much-needed scholarship money to help pay for my education. Plus, I had a personal mission of promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) that was also part of the national Miss America organization's platform. We shared a similar vision." In April 2015, Alayna Westcom's childhood goal came true as her name was announced to be Miss Vermont. "I couldn't believe it. I was just so overcome with emotion. My family was in the crowd and they were so proud—it will always be a special memory." In the talent portion of the competition, Alayna performed her science experiments, much to the amazement of the audience. Her next stop would be Atlantic City and the Miss America competition. www.baypath.edu "Science can be cool." BPW_WinterSpring 2016_final_Rev_Layout 1 3/29/16 1:03 PM Page 8

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