FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Allison Benner Goodin, College Relations Associate - Media, 610-740-3790

CEDAR CREST STUDENT WINS SCHOLARSHIP PAGEANT, WILL COMPETE IN 2008 MISS PENNSYLVANIA PAGEANT

Senior Neuroscience Major from Slatington is Raising Awareness of Female Chronic Pelvic Pain

 

Allentown, PA (December 6, 2007) - Amanda Sellers, a Cedar Crest College senior and native of Slatington, PA, was recently crowned Miss White Rose City at the regional scholarship pageant held in York, PA.  As the winner, Sellers qualifies for the Miss Pennsylvania Pageant to be held in July 2008.

For Sellers, who competed in pageants during high school, the decision to enter Miss White Rose City was two-fold. 

"The scholarship awards are certainly valuable, especially to a young student with medical school aspirations," says Sellers, a neuroscience major at Cedar Crest.  "But the opportunity to raise awareness of female chronic pelvic pain was also a major factor in choosing to pursue the title."

Chronic pelvic pain is defined as any pain in your pelvic region - the area between your navel and mid-thigh including muscles, bladder, bowel and, in women, reproductive organs - that lasts longer than six months.  Its signs and symptoms can be varied and include pain, cramping and pressure that can be consistent or intermittent.  Irritable bowel syndrome, endometriosis and fibroids are just a few of the diseases that are associated with chronic pelvic pain.

This issue, or platform as it is termed in pageant competitions, of female chronic pelvic pain is one that hits close to home for Sellers.  Her own personal experience with the condition has inspired her to learn more about it, become an advocate and educate as many people as possible.

"Chronic pelvic pain is a relatively new issue in so much as it has not been recognized by doctors and patients until very recently and many women are unaware that the symptoms they are suffering with could be this condition.  There is a huge need for further research into the condition and its treatment options, not to mention public education."

Along with making it her platform for scholarship pageants, Sellers has also begun to educate the Cedar Crest community about the condition.  As a member of Cedar Crest's College Women's Alliance for Health and Wellness, she will serve as editor and write a regular column about female pelvic issues in the alliance's health journal, WOMAN.  She also serves as a research intern at the Institute for Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery here in the Lehigh Valley.

Her interest in neuroscience and the medical field is reflected in Sellers's active involvement in health-related community service initiatives including autism awareness and ovarian cancer awareness with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition of the Lehigh Valley (NOCC).  As president of the Cedar Crest chapter of the Health Occupation Students of America organization (HOSA), Sellers has helped to organize a hospice supply drive each semester that encourages the campus community to donate hand lotion, soap and other items that benefit patients in Lehigh Valley Hospital's hospice program, for which Sellers herself has volunteered for the last three years.

In addition to being crowned Miss White Rose City 2008, Sellers was also recognized at the pageant for her participation in these activities with the Jacquie A. Yanoshik Award for Outstanding Community Service.

As she prepares for her next pageant - including practicing the piano for the talent portion - Sellers is doing her best to keep everything in perspective and take it one step at a time.

"I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to take my platform to the next level at the Miss Pennsylvania competition, and of course there will be a lot of preparation for that.  But I'm also excited about enjoying the rest of my senior year at Cedar Crest!"

Amanda Sellers is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Joe Sellers of Slatington.

For more information, or to set up an interview, please contact the College Relations Office at 610-740-3790.

 

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