Anderson Cooper Meets Volunteers for Hurricane Victims

Dozens of college and university students from around the United States spent an alternative Spring Break volunteering in New Orleans, helping rebuild homes for Katrina-area victims. Partnering with different groups on each campus, students traveled to Louisiana, giving up what could have been a typical week of awesome parties.



Kaity was there with her fellow UA students when CNN's Anderson Cooper broadcast Anderson Cooper 360° as part of his Road to Rescue series. He highlighted the post-Hurricane volunteer efforts while also debating AIG bail-out issues and entitlements with financial pundits and experts. Kaity texted home during the broadcast, and phoned home in-between commercial breaks to share her excitement.

Kaity's Mom and Dad watched the live show together back home, with Mom (me) pointing to the TV screen whenever the camera panned and Kaity waived.

During Kaity's dedicated week of volunteerism (March 15-22), she put her theatre production skills to work building a chicken coop, pouring concrete, caulking decking, and hammering and nailing her way to help folks reclaim their lives. It was a busy, tiring, fact-filled and eye-opening 7 days, with less-than-comfy living conditions, but well worth the trek, as Kaity reports. Kaity would like to volunteer again during next year's spring break.

UA Alumnus Geraldo Rivera Visited Campus

Kaity was one of dozens of University of Arizona students waiting to meet and greet American journalist and former talk show host Geraldo Rivera. Geraldo came to his alma mater to promote the release his new book His Panic: Why Americans Fear Hispanics in the U.S. You can tell by Kaity's grin that she is enjoying the moment.

PEAS and Thank You

Kaity designed pea-themed Thank You cards to sell through CafePress. She's donating her entire store owner mark-up ($5.00 profit per box) to the Frozen Pea Fund in honor of Susan Reynolds. Susan is an avid blogger who revealed on Twitter.com that she was diagnosed with breast cancer. You can follow Susan's posts on her personal blog "Boobs on Ice."

Kaity plans to minor in graphic arts in college and she is starting to build her art portfolio. She'll upload other original designs to her CafePress store, using the proceeds from these other products to help finance a replacement car following the teen's recent car accident, as well as donate funds to other charities.

Kaity's First Car

Car accidents are the No. 1 killer of teenagers in the United States, so we don't share this picture lightly. It is a frightening reminder that you can never be too careful around construction zones, especially at night.

After assuming ownership of Grandma's car on Thanksgiving, Kaity is now car-less but alive. Friends and family are grateful that Kaity and her friend Libby walked away from the horrible accident that the girls experienced Saturday night.

El Tour de Tucson

Kaity sang the Star Spangled Banner for the second year in a row at Tucson's annual bicycle event -- warbling on top of the world, above the crowd at the 109-mile event start. Like last year, she was filmed and photographed by various media outlets from around the world.

After this race start, we drove over to the 66-mile event start. Kaity was so tired from having gotten up at o'dark thirty that she slept in the car until shortly before the second start.

My Sister's Keeper

The Pima County Public Library creates book trailers in the summertime, enlisting local teens as directors and actors. Kaity was cast as the leukemia-stricken sister in "My Sister's Keeper." The production was shot in late June 2007 in Tucson, but the finished video interpretation of Jodi Picoult's novel has just been uploaded to YouTube. Photos from behind the scenes of the library book trailer are on Flickr.

American Idol Auditions in Omaha

With a week-long break between the end of Summer on Stage and Kaity's senior year, we hopped on a plane last Tuesday to go to the American Idol Season 7 auditions in Omaha, Nebraska. Sure, it's a long shot, but we decided the experience of being behind the scenes of a major reality TV/talent show would be a unique way to end the summer.

Registration was pretty fast. We stood in line only a couple of hours (on Wednesday) to get our wrist bands and tickets. The audition/cattle call was two days away (on Friday), which means we had plenty of time to go sightseeing and/or catch up on our sleep after getting up at o-dark-thirty.

One interesting perk -- we got to see first-hand just how far people will go to get a shot at fame. Such desperate individuals included a guy dressed in a bathrobe and shower cap and another guy dressed as Cupid, complete with homemade wings. Predictably, they each advanced to the next round, which means they've cemented their places (and reputations) in pop culture history.