Get To Know Mara Senecal-Albrecht, Distinguished Young Woman of Vermont 2017

Name: Mara Senecal-Albrecht

Age: 19

Hometown: South Burlington, Vermont

College: Connecticut College

Major: Dance and International Relations

Favorite food: Mangoes and raspberries

Favorite TV show: Outlander

Favorite Christmas/holiday tradition: Going to see The Nutcracker

Most hated household chore: Vacuuming the stairs

Favorite time of year: Sunny days in May

Plan ahead OR procrastinate – Plan ahead

Paper OR plastic – Paper

Glass half-full OR glass half-empty – Half-full

Introvert OR extrovert – Extrovert

Cats OR Dogs – Cats

Morning person OR night person – Both?

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what three things would you absolutely need for survival?

Music, fruit, and another human being.

What would I find in your refrigerator right now (if you have one)? Greek yoghurt

What is your biggest fear? My biggest fear is being unable to live the fullest life I could possibly live.

What is the one thing you wish someone had told you about college life that you had to find out on your own? One of the things I wish someone had told me about college life was that it can take a while for you to find that right group of people and your comfortable niche on campus and that that’s okay. Going to into college, I expected to find the perfect group of friends immediately and when I didn’t, I was a little disappointed and worried. However, as the next few weeks went by and I adjusted to my schedule and got involved around campus, I met some great people and my fears worked themselves out.

Sum yourself up in three words. Creative, Inquisitive, and Industrious.

Describe your single-most favorite moment from your Distinguished Young Women experience.

This is a nearly impossible question because I feel that so many moments in the Distinguished Young Women experience were my favorite, especially the entire two-weeks of Nationals in Mobile. However, one of my single-most favorite moments was during the Final Night number when all of us current DYWs, the Has-Beens, and the Alumni were standing on the stage singing ‘Time After Time.’ All of us could barely hold ourselves together because we knew that this was one of our last moments together in the wonderful sisterhood we had created over the past two weeks at Nationals. The top eight girls in the final weren’t with us at the time but we were with them in spirit, wishing them all the luck in the world for the rest of the competition. As we raised our hands during the last few bars of the song, every girl on the stage had a tear in her eye and that was when I knew that Distinguished Young Women would always be one of the most cherished and amazing experiences of my life.