You may know her as “Tiara Girl” on campus. Annie Rudd, a senior at the University of Miami, has worn a tiara on her head every day for the past 8 years.
August 25, 2007, was the first day she ever wore a tiara at her 13th birthday, and the last day she left the house without it.
“The tiara was just too good of a look to let go,” Rudd said. “I don’t even realize its been 8 years of my life. It sort of just became my thing, and it worked.”
Before even realizing it, wearing a tiara became a daily routine.
Now 21-years-old, Rudd will graduate soon from UM with a major in psychology and a minor in art. She hopes to purse a master’s degree in family and marriage counseling.
Annie Rudd
Annie Rudd
In 2012 , Rudd was featured on lifetime’s reality show “Prom Queen,” crowned prom queen at Miami Beach Senior High School. At University of Miami, Rudd has become a sort of local celebrity to students at the campus.
“At UM, I’m known as Tiara Girl,” Rudd said. “We have this Facebook page called UMiami Secrets and they would post about me a lot. There was one that said, ‘OMG I just saw tiara girl for the first time. Now I know how Hogwarts felt when they first saw Harry Potter.’”
Annie Rudd
She never leaves the house without her tiara, she may forget but it never takes more than a few steps out of the door to remember.
“It’s basically second nature.” Rudd said. “I don’t even realize its on when I go out, but people will give me ugly looks sometimes. Some people don’t get the tiara and assume the worst, but once they meet me they understand I’m not stuck up.”
For Rudd, the tiara exemplifies that she enjoys everything life has to offer and lives with no regrets. Her story is a reminder that it’s okay to be who you are without living in fear of what others think of you.
Annie Rudd
“The tiara is a great conversation starter,” Rudd said. “Meeting and making friends is super important at our age. It’s all about the connections we have later on in life.”
Rudd said that although she enjoys the tiara as a fundamental part of her life, some people don’t take her seriously as a result.
“People definitely think it’s a little immature, but I don’t care. I only have one life,” Rudd said.
The tiara isn’t coming off anytime soon.
“I definitely can’t see myself not wearing it, it’s just a part of my identity now,” Rudd said. “It’s all a learning experience. I like it and that’s all that matters. There’s nothing to regret about it.”
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Miami Archbishop Announces Findings Of Investigation Into Priest Accused Of Improprieties
Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski released a letter to the parishioners of St. Rose of Lima in Miami Shores today on his investigation of the parish’s former priest Father Pedro Corces.
In it, Wenski claimed that many of the allegations leveled against Corces in a 129 page dossier of information were not true.
However, Wenski’s investigation also found that Corces was not fit for service as a parish priest and he accepted Corces’ resignation.
Wenski’s investigation was prompted after a group of concerned parents at St. Rose accused Corces of putting children at the school in “grave danger” after he allegedly hired a man as a school maintenance worker who was once arrested on prostitution charges.
The parents united under the name of Christifidelis and they paid a private investigator over $3,500 to surveil Father Corces to help them build a case against him. Once they could no longer afford the investigator’s services, parents took to surveilling Father Corces on their own, even digging around the rectory trash to find incriminating documents.
The parent’s report also alleged that Father Corces took frequent expensive vacations, sometimes with a St. Rose maintenance worker and that he often spent the night at the same workers condo where they claimed Corces paid the cable bill.
Read More: Miami Priest Accused Of Hiring School Maintenance Worker Who Was Once Arrested For Prostitution
During the investigation, Wenski said that Corces volunteered to take a polygraph exam and that the priest denied any sexual improprieties with school maintenance staff.
“The investigation of these allegations is now completed,” Wenski said in the letter. “Based on the outcome of extensive interviews of all persons that could have knowledge of the truth of these allegations as well as the results of a voluntary polygraph examination of Fr. Corces, it is concluded that no sexual impropriety had occurred. Nevertheless, Father’s decisions to hire friends to work for the Parish and his continues socializing with them outside the Parish did contribute to the perception among some of inappropriate behavior.”
Read the whole letter:
Letter from Archbishop Wenski on Fr. Corces Investigation
Interestingly, while short on specifics, Wenski’s letter did say something damning about Corces:
“The investigation did identify other deficiencies with Fr. Corces’ administration in which we failed to follow clear Archdiocesan policies.”
While trying to put a bow on the story, Wenski may have only opened up more questions as to the full extent of what actually happened.
For example, which specific deficiencies were there with Corces’ administration?
Which clear Archdiocesan policies did he not follow?
Why was Sister Bernadette Keane fired from her role as principal before the end of the school year?
Did the maintenance worker not have a criminal record when he was hired?
This is a developing story. Stay with RISE NEWS for further updates.
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Miami Landmark Football Sandwich Shop Will “Reopen Soon”
What’s News In This Story?
–There is literally a sign of life at one of Miami’s best loved sandwich joints.
-Football Sandwich Shop (8484 NE 2nd Ave, Miami) has been closed for months for an unknown reason.
-But a new sign placed on the inside of the door at the shop is raising hope that it may open again.
–The sign reads: “Closed due to construction. Will reopen soon.” It also says to send emails to an address that bounces.
–RISE NEWS first noticed the sign on April 13 and sent multiple messages to a working email for the shop over the course of a week- but no one responded.
–Yelp and Google have listed the restaurant as closed. –And there were rumors that the owner was trying to offload the property.
-Football Sandwich Shop has operated in Miami’s Little River area since 1972 and is well known for its ties to Miami Dolphins history.
-The shop is covered with drawings of former Dolphins greats and sandwiches are named after legendary players like Mercury Morris and Larry Csonka.
-There has been significant construction along NE 2nd Ave for months.
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