Bliss Soucek, Miss Milford 2007 is a graduate of Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she earned Suma cum laude honors. She received her Bachelor of Arts in English in May 2007. She is a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society, an honor reserved for the top 10% of the class. She was selected as a Presidential Scholar at the University and received a Ballet and Jazz Dance Apprenticeship at the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park. Bliss will  attend George Mason Law School in the fall of 2007, where she would like to work toward a future in child advocacy or criminal prosecution. Her ultimate dream is to one day become a family court judge.

While at Point Park Bliss has been involved in various community service projects. Selected as an apprentice in the Dance department and later in the Academic arena, Bliss worked with the Community Outreach Partnership Center teaching dance and musical theater to inner city school children in the Pittsburgh area. Her second year with COPC Bliss was selected as the Team leader for her division. As well as COPC, Bliss became involved with the Big Brother/Big Sisters mentoring program through her Honors Department Chairman Dr. P.K. Weston. She spent time with her little sister, Jasmine one day each week at her elementary school. Bliss also attended the Pennsylvania Conference for Women her sophomore year where she was privileged to listen to such speakers as Sandra Day O’Connor, Madeline Albright, and Lisa Ling. As a Presidential Scholar Bliss goes to a luncheon each year at Point Park where she contributes her ideas about improving the University. She was also selected to speak for the Point Park University Board of Trustees task force regarding the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program and why it should remain an encouraged activity in the Honors Department.

Additionally, Bliss has studied the art of dance for 17 years. Before attending Point Park, Bliss danced with the Delaware Ballet Company where she became a senior company member at age 13 was a principal dancer for several years. She performed various leading roles including the Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, Dew Drop, and Clara in The Nutcracker. Additional roles included leads in Cinderella and Coppelia and as well as the principal lead in a Stars and Stripes repertoire. Bliss attended Orlando Ballet School in the summer of 2003 and Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet in the summer of 2000. At Milford High School, she was principal dancer in the spring musical for four years and was awarded the Musical Theater award upon graduation. At Point Park University, she has performed with the Playhouse Dance Company and received a solo role in their production of Swan Lake.

Bliss was selected as the first Teen Miss Milford in 2002 at the age of 15. Throughout the year she performed at various community service events in the Milford area and became active with the American Diabetes Association after meeting Little Miss Milford 2002, Madison Dodge, who suffers from Type 1 diabetes. Although Bliss does not suffer from the disease herself, she saw the devastating effects it had on 5 year Madison. Bliss held a community "Dance for Diabetes" to benefit the ADA in 2002 and has not stopped working for a cure ever since. Each fall she participates in America’s Walk for Diabetes at Cape Henlopen State Park where she is a committee member and is part of the team- Madison’s Prayer. Bliss has attended the Skate 4 Cure held by Madison in October and in March each year. She has also volunteered at Diabetes Night at the Shorebirds, the Grand Prix at the Delmarva Chicken Festival, and numerous other events.

Bliss competed in the Delaware’s Junior Miss Scholarship Program as a high school senior in 2004 and won the title. Receiving approx $3,000 in scholarship money, Bliss traveled to Mobile, Alabama where she competed in the national pageant and was part of the first ever Reality TV Pageant. While in Mobile Bliss’s daily journal entry was selected for publication in the Mobile Register. Bliss has returned to the Delaware’s Junior Miss stage every fall since 2004 as the resident choreographer.

In 2005 Bliss started working towards the Miss Delaware crown when she won the title of Miss Milford 2005 at age eighteen. Throughout her year of service Bliss continued to perform for the community and volunteer at community events. When returning to college, Bliss decided to expand her fundraising efforts for diabetes research. She wrote a proposal for the Honors Department at Point Park University so that she could do fund raising for diabetes research on campus. Her proposal was accepted and Bliss sold plush Happy Flowers and Dangles for Diabetes to students on campus. She held another community "Dance for Diabetes" in May of 2005 and raised over $1,000 to help find a cure. In June of 2005 she competed in the Miss Delaware Scholarship Pageant in Rehoboth Beach where she was selected as third runner up to Miss Delaware and First Runner up in the Community Service Award. Bliss’s total scholarship earnings in 2005 totaled approximately $3,000. She also won a diamond Bulova watch for her community service efforts. http://s110.photobucket.com/albums/n112/mistielyn/

Selected in January 2007 as Miss Milford 2007, Bliss will pick up where she left off and continue her fund raising efforts as she works to help find a cure for Type 1 Diabetes. She will also compete once more for the title of Miss Delaware. Bliss plans to visit elementary schools to speak about healthy bodies, to visit local pharmacies, and to attend a diabetes support group meeting at Bay Health Medical Center this year. While in her final semester of college, Bliss is writing a children’s book as a part of her Senior Honors Thesis Project. The book is intended to help children living and coping with diabetes. She has asked Madison Dodge, now 11 to complete the illustrations. Her dream would be to publish the book, which would help thousands of children suffering with the disease.

In the little spare time that she has while carrying a 21 credit load at college, Bliss enjoys watching TV, eating carbs, listening to Classical music, and dancing at every opportunity she can get. Bliss is an only child but is blessed with a loving and dedicated extended family. She is the daughter of Frank, a chemist, and Sandy, an elementary school teacher. She is the proud Mommy of Gustave, a 5 year old Schnauzer. Bliss’s grandmother and Aunt Kim have never missed a dance performance or a pageant competition and will be among the loudest cheering this June at Miss Delaware!