Michaela Gagne
Encyclopedia
Michaela J. Gagne was crowned Miss Massachusetts
in June 2006. She is a resident of Fall River, Massachusetts
. She received her BFA in art with a minor in psychology from the University of Massachusetts
at Amherst
. In 2006, she completed her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counselling and Art Therapy from Lesley University.
As Miss Massachusetts, her Platform Issue was Heart
Health: Listen, Learn, and Live, which was a reaction to having been diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition and having undergone surgery for an internal cardiac defibrillator at the age of 17. She is currently a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association
’s Go Red for Women campaign, and she has traveled to Capitol Hill several times to speak with members of Congress regarding the work that must be done regarding heart disease.
Gagne is a national spokesperson for the SADS (Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome) Foundation, as well as Parent Heart Watch, a group of parents making great strides in legislative and national awareness in memory of the children they have lost to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Gagne also serves as an international spokesperson for Heartbeat International, an organization that provides surgery and the means for pacemakers, defibrillators, and other devices to be implanted in some of the one million people who are dying every year without these procedures. In addition, Gagne continues to campaign on local and national levels to make Automated External Defibrillators mandatory in our schools. Gagne has been interviewed nationally on CNN
, Fox News and Inside Edition
, as well as being featured in various publications including USA Today
, Newsweek online (personally written article) and The Boston Globe
.
Despite her heart condition, Gagne is an accomplished athlete, competing regularly in soccer and basketball
, and is an MIAA certified high school track and field coach. She is currently an art teacher at St. Vincent’s Home, a residential/educational facility for children in need, as well as providing crisis/adjustment counseling in the Fall River school system. Her volunteer work ranges from traveling to Africa to set up a medical clinic in the Bukoba region of Tanzania
, to being a mentor for the Peaceful Coalition, a student group consisting of gang-involved and/or at-risk males.
Miss Massachusetts
For the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss Massachusetts USAThe Miss Massachusetts competition is a scholarship pageant put on annually by the Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Foundation, Inc...
in June 2006. She is a resident of Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River, Massachusetts
Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is located about south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and west of New Bedford and south of Taunton. The city's population was 88,857 during the 2010 census, making it the tenth largest city in...
. She received her BFA in art with a minor in psychology from the University of Massachusetts
University of Massachusetts
This article relates to the statewide university system. For the flagship campus often referred to as "UMass", see University of Massachusetts Amherst...
at Amherst
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,819, making it the largest community in Hampshire County . The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts...
. In 2006, she completed her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counselling and Art Therapy from Lesley University.
As Miss Massachusetts, her Platform Issue was Heart
Heart
The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...
Health: Listen, Learn, and Live, which was a reaction to having been diagnosed with a life-threatening heart condition and having undergone surgery for an internal cardiac defibrillator at the age of 17. She is currently a national spokesperson for the American Heart Association
American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
’s Go Red for Women campaign, and she has traveled to Capitol Hill several times to speak with members of Congress regarding the work that must be done regarding heart disease.
Gagne is a national spokesperson for the SADS (Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome) Foundation, as well as Parent Heart Watch, a group of parents making great strides in legislative and national awareness in memory of the children they have lost to Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Gagne also serves as an international spokesperson for Heartbeat International, an organization that provides surgery and the means for pacemakers, defibrillators, and other devices to be implanted in some of the one million people who are dying every year without these procedures. In addition, Gagne continues to campaign on local and national levels to make Automated External Defibrillators mandatory in our schools. Gagne has been interviewed nationally on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, Fox News and Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, as well as being featured in various publications including USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, Newsweek online (personally written article) and The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
.
Despite her heart condition, Gagne is an accomplished athlete, competing regularly in soccer and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, and is an MIAA certified high school track and field coach. She is currently an art teacher at St. Vincent’s Home, a residential/educational facility for children in need, as well as providing crisis/adjustment counseling in the Fall River school system. Her volunteer work ranges from traveling to Africa to set up a medical clinic in the Bukoba region of Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, to being a mentor for the Peaceful Coalition, a student group consisting of gang-involved and/or at-risk males.
“At 17 years old, my life was squarely put in perspective when I was told I could have died during the first unprotected years of my life. I turned my obstacles into opportunities, and my work is done in the memory of those who were not given that second chance.”