Stephanie Chervenkov.

On the night of October 30, 2011, Stephanie and I were crowned Miss Maryland Teen USA and Miss Maryland USA. Twas the night I gained a new sister!





(Stephanie's little brother)




Stephanie will be competing in Miss Teen USA this July and I will be competing for Miss USA hosted by Giuliana Rancic and Andy Cohen, June 3, 2012 live from Las Vegas on NBC. We are busy prepping and motivating each other as our national competitions near!










We have gone to so many events in the almost 6 months we have been titleholders and below are some of the memories we've shared together. Cannot wait to see what the next couple of months hold for us.

Love you Stephanie!

Sports Illustrated.

‎41 years ago today, my father landed the cover of Sports Illustrated (and back then it was not as easy as it is today!). Always focused on science and school, he never played sports in high school or college and only began running in his late 20s after being admitted/graduating the first African American to go to Duke University Medical School, integrating the University as a whole (pretty late for any athlete to begin competing in sport).

(35 years after my father made the cover, I was featured in Sports Illustrated Magazine when I played volleyball for UCLA. I became a 2 time NCAA All American for the Bruins. After UCLA, I was invited to play professional volleyball overseas in Puerto Rico and to train for the 2008 Olympic Games in Colorado Springs).











He decided to start running after watching a track meet on tv and joked with a friend that he could run faster than any of the competitors. He would train on hospital stairs late at night on his breaks while working in the Emergency room. Almost 70, to this day he still works out everyday before or after long shifts at the hospital....he often drags me along with him...

(My dad working out today. He always wears his hospital scrubs! I can count on one hand the amount of times I have ever seen my dad in real clothes)






World famous for wearing yellow swim trunks and suspenders when he ran, he ended up breaking the record for the 100yrd dash which he still and will forever hold as the race was soon after changed to the 100meter dash. He ran the race in 9 seconds flat. In the same year he won a U.S. Public Health Service award for co-authoring a paper entitled "The Inhibiting of DNA and RNA Synthesis by Dau-norubicin and Adriamycin in 1-1210 Mouse Leukemia".

(Sarasota Herald Tribune. Feb 5, 1971)

In the 1980s, he moved with my mom to rural South Africa where he spent 8years providing pro bono medical care to over 500,000 refugees and native people. My family's work continued on even after we moved back to the states. I co-founded a 501 (c) (3) international non profit organization, The Meriwether Foundation, about 6 years ago based on the selfless work my parents have contributed to the world. Please consider donating to The Meriwether Foundation! (www.MeriwetherFoundation.org)

(My father in Zimbabwe with Medical School students The Meriwether Foundation sponsors)

Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week.

I was invited to the 2012 Fall Collection for Herve Leger by the designer Max Azria at Lincoln Center last week. It was great to be back in Lincoln Center! This past fall for the spring 2012 shows, I got to attend Herve Leger, BCBG, Carolina Hererra, Cynthia Rowley, Nicholas K., Richard Chai, Carlos Miele, Betsey Johnson, Rebecca Taylor, Nicole Miller, Pamella Roland, Tadashi Shoji etc.


(YOUTUBE VIDEO: http://youtu.be/b9jZRHPUkT8)

(BLOGPOST: http://nanameriwether.blogspot.com/2011/09/end-of-summer-2011.html)


Famous for introducing the world to "the bandage dress", I had met Max Azria and his beautiful wife, Lubov, at their spring collection for BCBG and Herve Leger in the fall of 2011. It was great to see them again as they showcased their amazing new looks for fall. They further invited me to the after party DJed by Solange Knowles held this season at Anja in the meatpacking district NYC.




(My beautiful date, my mom:), at the 2012 Fall Collection for Herve Leger afterparty at Anja DJed by Solange Knowles for Mercedes Benz New York Fashion Week)












(Designer Max Azria and I at Anja, after the showing of the 2012 Fall Herve Leger Collection)


(Designer Lubov Azria and I sharing a laugh backstage after the showing of the 2012 Herve Leger Collection)

2012 Polar Bear Plunge Supporting the Special Olympics.

This weekend I got a chance to travel to the Eastern Shore to take a little dip in to the icy January waters of Maryland on behalf of the Special Olympics at the Polar Bear Plunge! Fun fact: Maryland raises the most amount of money in the WORLD for the Special Olympics and I was excited to be a part of it this weekend.

I got a chance to plunge with our Governor of Maryland and was further invited to address the Senators and House Representatives of Maryland at their General Assembly! Especially since I was a Political Science major at UCLA in my undergraduate, this opportunity is a dream come true! Keep you posted on my visit, in the meantime enjoy pics from the event below!xo

New January Video.

New video of my trip to Southern Africa!

This month I traveled to South Africa and Zambia and was beyond honored by the warm welcome I got as Miss Maryland USA 2012. I visited on behalf of the 501 (c) (3) international non-profit I co-founded, The Meriwether Foundation (www.MeriwetherFoundation.org). We have several projects in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique and South Africa. For example, in South Africa we started a school, clinic, feeding program and organic garden at Zitha Village which is featured in my video!

Please consider donating to The Meriwether Foundation, 100% of proceeds go to our projects and all donations are tax deductible! (Missions@MeriwetherFoundation.org for more info or like us on Facebook "Meriwether Foundation" and follow us on twitter @MeriwetherFdtn).

Upon hearing about my arrival, The Star Newspaper, Southern Africa's most read newspaper, did a story about my journey to Miss USA 2012 and about the work my non-profit does. (I posted links to the articles earlier under the post "Press.") They received so much feedback that another story was published a couple of days later.

I also got the chance to shoot with Alf Kumalo who is famous for being Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali's personal photographer. It was a true honor to be shot by such a legend!(see some of the shots below in my earlier post).

I was invited to meet with US Embassy Officials while I was in Zambia to speak about the work The Meriwether Foundation does in Zambia as well! To be recognized by the US Embassy was an honor! The Meriwether Foundation and I look forward to bettering several rural villages in Zambia as our projects continue to grow!



www.vimeo.com/channels/nanameriwether




I have a YouTube channel as well!(But I am posting new videos to my vimeo channel)
www.Youtube.com/NanaMeriwether

Alf Kumalo.

While in South Africa I was invited to shoot with legendary photographer Alf Kumalo. He is famous for being Nelson Mandela's photographer and has shot Muhammad Ali several times. I was honored to not only shoot with him but become a friend of his!

Press.

I just recently took a 10 day trip to South Africa and Zambia on behalf of the non-profit I co-founded The Meriwether Foundation (www.MeriwetherFoundation.org).

Along with visiting the numerous health, academic, agricultural and community projects The Meriwether Foundation helped start in several rural villages of Southern Africa, I got to shoot with Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali's personal photographer and I was invited to meet with US Officials at the US Embassy in Zambia about my projects!

I got to do a live radio interview on South Africa's Talk Radio 702. I was also printed on the front page of The Star Newspaper (the whole of Southern Africa's biggest newspaper). Links to the articles:

1. http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/soweto/us-model-s-heart-is-in-soweto-1.1219565

2. http://www.iol.co.za/the-star/soweto/soweto-linked-woman-eyes-miss-usa-title-1.1215936?showComments=true