Hello, my name is Marielle Roberts-McDonald and I have been honored and blessed with the title of the Imperial Ambassador for the Shriners Hospitals. My goal is to embrace my reign and pair my passion for public speaking and performing coupled with the respect for the title to see where we can lead each other. I will work hard to encourage and empower other teens to embrace their passions and to show them how they can make a difference in their communities while I continue to positively impact a causes that are of great importance to me - The Shriners Hospitals for Children and Children’s Miracle Network (CMN).
I have faced many challenges since birth including residing in a CMN Hospital NICU for the first 31 days of my life. I also underwent surgery at a CMN Hospital at 5 months for an inter-cranial bleeding hemangioma. The only deficit that resulted was a severe speech impediment, but thankfully no brain damage. When it was time for me to walk, every time I stood up, I fell down, and I was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. I went to the Shriners Hospital of Philadelphia for extensive therapy and wore braces on my legs and arms to learn to walk and strengthen my muscles and ligaments around my hips. After being released from treatment the doctors suggest I continue my therapy through dance, which is how my love of dance started. Dance changed my life, and I am very passionate about this sport. When I was in first grade I was unable to learn Phonics due to my severe speech impediment. The deficit did affect my learning ability and I was unable to learn Phonics so every evening after dinner my Granddad and I would sit at the kitchen table and he helped me to memorize words from the dictionary so I could learn to read. I went to speech therapy twice a week for 6 years and thanks to the support of my family and the CMN hospital medical staff I have overcome the impediment and conquered the gift of speaking. I also suffer from a visual disturbance which can be corrected by wearing contact lenses and I also have severe asthma which I am able to control. Then as a young teenager I suffered from cystic acne, and as a result I was bullied, but once again thanks to a dermatologist at our CMN Hospital I was treated and cured. As you can see my involvement with these hospitals began when I was an infant and my medical care continued into my teenage years. My involvement with these two great organizations have been life long, and I will always be always remain grateful to these remarkable hospitals. I currently support Shriners Hospitals through my charitable efforts, and as a spokesperson sharing my story of being a success story thanks to the great Orthopedic care I received. Without their care I would not be walking today, nor would I have experienced dance which today is my passion. I want to be there for the Shriner's Hospital like they were there for me when I was struggling to overcome hip deformities. I will also be forever grateful to CMN Hospitals since without their cutting edge medical care I might not have survived after birth nor would I have overcome my medical challenges. I was involved in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen Program for 5 years which allowed me to speak about the importance of volunteerism to improve the lives of others. My way of saying “Thank You” is to give back, through “Making Miracles Happen”, my platform, for other children who require medical care.
I am fortunate to have overcome many challenges and each one has made me stronger and more resilient. I now embrace challenges and I set high goals for myself in every aspect of my life. Giving adequate attention to each area makes me the well-balanced young lady I am today who is enjoying much success.
Miss Southeasten Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen 2011
Awarded at Miss Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen: People's Choice Award
Miss Mercer County's Outstanding Teen 2012
Miss Laurel Highlands' Outstanding Teen 2013
Awarded at Miss Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen: Non-Finalist Fitness Award, Non-Finalist Talent Award, Leadership Award, and Bronze Level for Duke of Edinburg
Miss Laurelwood's Outstanding Teen 2014
Awarded at Miss Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen: Top 11 and Silver Duke of Edinburg
Miss Alle-Kiski's Outstanding Teen 2015
Awarded at Miss Pennsylvania's Outstanding Teen: 3rd Runner Up to Miss PA's Outstanding Teen, Miss Photogenic Award, and Gold Level for the Duke of Edinburg
Miss Southwestern 2016
Awarded at Miss Pennsylvania: the Miss America Community Service Award
Miss Luzerne County 2017
Miss Northeastern Pennsylvania 2018
Miss MidState 2019
ABOUT ME
Some of my accomplishments include:
Scholastic Honors: 3.6 cumulative GPA; Dean’s List with Honors; Inducted into Alpha Epsilon Delta Honor Society in 2018; Inducted into Science and Mathematics Honor Society in 2018; Attended college full-time during my senior year in high school and graduated with 39 college credits; Attended Harvard Secondary School sophomore year of high school.
Leadership Roles: Imperial Ambassador for Shriners Hospitals; Residential Assistant for 2018-2019 school year; FYE Co-Leader for Core 100; Biology Club President for 2 years; Member of EKT Community Service Sorority; King’s Emerging Leaders Seminar; Ambassador for Just Strong Clothing.
Accomplishments: Raised $250,000+ for Shriners Hospitals over the past 13 years; Helped raise $75,000+ for Children's Miracle Network; Authored Children's Book "Believe in Yourself and Follow Your Dreams" - all proceeds benefit Shriners and CMN - sold 700 copies; Created Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Website for my Social Impact; Shriners Gold Award Recipient; Gold, Silver, and Bronze Duke of Edinburg. CRLA Level 1 Tutor at King's College.
Interesting Facts: Nickname is Mimi; Adopted in March 2012; Third generation deacon; Weight lifter who can chest press 105 lbs and squat 165 lbs; Captain/Choreographer for SEM’s Dance Company for 3 years; Memorized word pronunciations from the dictionary; Danced with the Moscow Ballet; Cat lover.
Employment: Emergency Room Medical Scribe at Geisinger Wyoming Valley, 2018-present; Dance Instructor at David Blight, 2012-2013 & 2018-present; Calculus, Biology, & Chemistry Tutor at King's, 2017-present; Front Desk at EK Fitness, 2017-2018.
Click Link to See my Imterview on PA Live:
www.pahomepage.com/story/d/story/palive-marielle-mcdonald/50158/3e9j6obRP0mGfyYB1-QU_A