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People On The Move - Anjelica Chickara
03/04/2010 - By Chad A. Safran
HELPING KIDS TO GET HEALTHY
Two and a half years ago Anjelica Chickara would never have imagined she would be giving her friends fitness advice. How things have changed for this Holmdel High School senior. In that time, she has shed over 60 pounds, determined to get healthy and get in shape.
“I told myself I had to change. I had no choice,” says Anjelica, who was worried about the health issues she was going to encounter if she didn’t lose weight. “I cut down on my portions. I started exercising a lot more. I couldn’t even walk around the track once. I had to realize what’s good for my body.”
This drastically affected Anjelica’s life for the better. She now exercises at least four to five times each week. Her efforts to improve her overall health enabled her to become one of 25 members on the Youth Advisory Board of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which is a partnership between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, an effort to fight childhood obesity and inspire kids to make healthy behavioral choices. Kids on the advisory board range in age from 8-17, making Anjelica one of the oldest.
Through the American Heart Association website, Anejlica, with some help from her mom, Jennifer, applied to be a member, thinking that it would be a great opportunity. In July 2009, Anjelica received notification of her appointment to the board and embarked on a trip to Little Rock, Ark., for the orientation, which involved media training, learning how to host youth forums, and how to teach healthy eating to kids. “After that weekend, I was completely enthused about everything,” says Anjelica, who has been a member of her school’s softball team and key club since freshman year. “There were such great people there. It was an amazing opportunity. I am really glad I am part of it.”
As part of the Board, Anjelica was a panelist at a teacher’s award ceremony for healthy school lunch programs in August where she joined a discussion on that very same topic with the teachers. Former president Bill Clinton introduced the panel. In September, she was the moderator for a youth-hosted forum at the Vanderbilt YMCA in New York City. The program featured over 150 attendees and media people. Later in the autumn, at Fit and Fun in the city, Anjelcia actually introduced President Clinton, making for a memorable day. “That was one of the best days of my life,” she says. “How many times do you get to meet a former president? And to introduce him was even better.”
Anjelica has also contributed several blog entries to Seventeen magazine’s website. When Anjelica introduced herself at the Vanderbilt YMCA, a representative from the magazine heard her weight-loss story and loved it. This provided Anjelica an outlet to offer advice and comments to young teens on health issues, exercise, and self-esteem.
Recently Anjelica has begun work on the service learn project part of her term on the Board. Her goal is to put together a fitness video and put it on the empowerME2b.org web site. She also wants to make a calendar in which each month has a fitness picture and accompanying tip. All the proceeds from the calendar would go to Alliance for a Healthier Generation.
The Youth Advisory Board is only part of Anjelica’s commitment to helping out in the community. She has been a teacher’s assistant at St. Catharine’s Parish for the past five years. She is a transitional leader at school. She even earned college credit for attending the Congressional Student Leadership Conference at Pace University last summer. To add to all this, she is currently working with a publisher to write a book about weight loss for tweens and teens.
Anjelica’s world has changed much over the past few years, and it has been for the better as she now inspires others. “A few years ago my friends would be pushing me to go faster when we would run,” she says. “Now it’s me pushing them.”
STATS
FAVORITE RESTAURANT
Carmine’s, New York City
FAVORITE MUSICIANS
Paramore, Lady GaGa
FAVORITE MOVIE
Legally Blonde
PET PEEVE
People who crack their knuckles
THREE PEOPLE YOU’D LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH
Coco Chanel, Bill Clinton, Lady GaGa
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