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FSU PC educator competing to be Ms. Veteran America

News Herald - 8/29/2018

Aug. 29--PANAMA CITY -- A Florida State University Panama City educator soon will be on her way to Los Angeles to compete in the Ms. Veteran America finals.

Stacey VanDyke is the program administrator for the nurse anesthesia master's program at FSU Panama City. She served 20 years in the Air Force, where she also was a nurse anesthetist, doing critical care air transport during her deployment in the Middle East in 2001.

"I met an incredible number of interesting and fun people. It really pushed me to be a better person," VanDyke said. "It pushed me to be a stronger person. The military definitely encourages higher education and I was able to get both of my advanced degrees in the Air Force."

The competition is scheduled for Oct. 7. VanDyke went through the regional competition in June.

VanDyke is using using the opportunity to raise awareness for homeless female veterans. Proceeds from the competition are going toward helping homeless female veterans and their children, and the nonprofit Final Salute Inc. with provides homeless women veterans with safe and suitable housing.

It's a cause that's close to VanDyke's heart. She lived near Biloxi during Hurricane Katrina, an experience she draws from when reflecting on the challenges faced by homeless women.

"When I lost my home in Katrina, I really thought about what that would be like if I didn't have the support that I had. I could have been homeless myself," VanDyke said. "I'm a mother and I can't imagine having kids and not having a place to live."

For support, VanDyke recently reached out to Congressman Neal Dunn for help. The two met at Dunn's office Tuesday. The two bonded over their shared history of military service and a background in medicine, and the two also share a passion for helping veterans. VanDyke asked for Dunn's support as she heads off to the Ms. Veteran America competition in California in October, while Dunn heads the House Veterans' Affairs health subcommittee.

"She and I have a huge overlapping interest in taking care of veterans, specifically female veterans and homeless female veterans," Dunn said. "I sit on the Veterans' Committee in Congress and we are charged with taking care of our veterans. Nobody is in more need of it than our women veterans. She is shining a bright light on that."

VanDyke found out about Ms. Veteran America in March when she was invited to speak at a documentary about homeless female veterans, which motivated her to sign up. She currently has a GoFundMe for her campaign, which has raised almost all of its $10,000 goal.

The competition will include an interview, talent demonstration, advocacy statement and evening gown portion. For the talent portion, VanDyke will sing "This Is Me" from the film "The Greatest Showman."

"I'm really excited about it. I'm not that nervous," VanDyke said. "I just want to be able to represent and be a good advocate for the cause."

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(c)2018 The News Herald (Panama City, Fla.)

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