JAMIE AMELIO KRISTEN GILLMAN & LAUREN PETROWSKI

The Women's Issue

Waterways FEB | March 2020

THE INSIDER’S LIFESTYLE GUIDE TO WEST AUSTIN

Jamie Amelio, Kristen Gillman & Lauren Petrowski WHAT DRIVES THEM

WILD IN STYLE WITH ANIMAL PRINTS

GET THE DISH ON CHEF DZINTRA DZENIS

RAISE A GLASS IN WEST AUSTIN

GET BOTHERED, STAY BOTHERED

ACTIVIST JAMIE AMELIO ADVOCATES ACTION, COMMITMENT By Shelley Seale

What bothers you? Of course, all of us have everyday bothers: traffic, hectic schedules, spilled coffee or the rude person in the grocery checkout line. But for Jamie Amelio it’s the big bothers that count: homelessness, obstacles to education, suicide. And she wants you to stay bothered about whatever it is that concerns you the most.

Her First Big Bother Amelio first encountered her “big bother” on a trip to Cambodia in 2003. She discovered a beautiful country rich in culture and history and was amazed by the wonder of the Angkor Wat complex of ancient temples.

But she saw another side of the country as well. As she was leaving the temples, a little girl tugged at her t-shirt and asked for a dollar so that she could go to school.

That moment changed Amelio forever. Instead of ignoring the child or giving her the dollar and continuing on her way, Amelio asked instead if she could accompany the girl to her school. The crowded, dirty facilities shocked her into action. Later that year she founded the nonprofit Caring for Cambodia to raise funds to train teachers, provide supplies and remove barriers to education for as many Cambodian children as she could.

Amelio maintains that she did nothing extraordinary and firmly believes that anyone can make a huge positive difference in the world by staying bothered—in fact, that’s both the name of the call to action she’s initiated as well as the title of her third book, which was published last November.

Finding Your Bother “You have something that bothers you,” Amelio says. “We all have it in us. We just may not know what it is yet. It could be politics and voting—but whatever it is, you can apply it to anything in the world. Once you say out loud what bothers you, it can be a great first step toward action and commitment.”

One barrier that she’s noticed to people’s action is that they often think they can’t do enough to change a problem, so they end up doing nothing. “Even if you only have an hour to spend or $10 to give, I encourage everyone to take little steps toward getting involved. Sometimes things present themselves to us, and we say, ‘Oh, let someone else do something about that.’ But we should be the ones to do something.”

Her firm belief in and passion about this idea led to her write Staying Bothered: Find Your Passion, Commit to Action, Change the World. “I realized that being bothered about something was one thing, but actually staying bothered about it enough to take action was another thing. I wanted to share my story about what it feels like to commit to doing something and sticking with it because that’s hard. That desire to be bothered enough to do something about it can fade. I believe it’s a matter of not letting that happen, of finding your passion and keeping it going. If it’s really important to you, you have to find a way to stay bothered.”

Taking a Stand In the midst of writing the book, Amelio found a second bother, this one much more immediate and personal.

“I have two teenage sons who have dealt with anxiety, depression and addiction. One had to go into a treatment center. All of a sudden, he went down this road we couldn’t get him back from, especially when he began talking about suicide.” >>

‘I think if we all stay focused on continuing to really help the world, we’ll get to a better place.’

Amelio immersed herself in learning more about what parents and society as a whole can do to help kids who are in crisis. “Suicide is the highest it’s ever been [among young people], and our schools aren’t supporting that as much as they should. I decided to take a stand and be more vocal about it in my community.”

Amelio is living proof that turning your bothers into actions can have a meaningful impact. Caring for Cambodia now provides education to more than 6,000 students in 21 schools, and her son is on the road to recovery.

That doesn’t mean, however, the commitment has always been easy for her to maintain. Amelio found her commitment tested after discovering a web of secrets surrounding the two Cambodian girls she and her spouse had adopted. The secrets involved practically every one of her Cambodian colleagues, and she felt betrayed. She was on the verge of leaving Caring for Cambodia but instead decided it was more important to stay bothered.

“Your task during tough times is to find something, anything, that is good,” she says. “Build on that. Focus on it every day. And keep going.”

She admits that for a long time she tried hard to do everything perfectly, but now she realizes that striving for perfection is self-defeating. “I’m the mother of six kids and I

46 WATERWAYS | February 2020 have a career. I can do it all, but I don’t do any of it perfectly. Part of this book and call to action is to say that I’m human. You have to work at it, and be okay with not doing everything perfectly.”

Staying Bothered Her work came full circle on her most recent trip to Cambodia in fall 2019. On the way back to the hotel one day, she impulsively stopped at a roadside market. “I stepped out of the car and immediately locked eyes with the little girl who had asked me for a dollar 17 years ago.”

Amelio had kept up with the child and seen her several times since that first encounter, but it had been many years. She believes that following your purpose and staying bothered creates serendipitous moments like that.

“I often wonder who gets more out of it, when you give to someone else,” she says. “It’s truly a wonderful thing when that line of demarcation fades. I think if we all stay focused on continuing to really help the world, we’ll get to a better place.”

Learn more about Amelio’s Staying Bothered movement at stayingbothered.com. Her latest book is available in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon.

PAR FOR THE COURSE KRISTEN GILLMAN’S PRO GOLF CAREER TAKES FLIGHT By Shelley Seale

“Working hard and seeing it pay off is what motivates me.”

Lake Travis High School alumna and LPGA rookie Kristen Gillman has golfed for almost as long as she can remember. Along the way, though, she flirted with other athletic endeavors.

Swimming was one of those sports. She took it up in kindergarten and seemed to take to it like, well, a duck to water. “I was good at it,” Gillman recalls, but it didn’t capture her interest as wholly as golf did.

By middle school she felt she ought to choose one sport on which to focus for competition. The choice wasn’t too difficult. “I was putting more time into golf, and swimming became secondary.” In the sixth grade she decided to spend more time on the links and less time in the lap lanes.

“I thought that golf had more opportunities—you can play it your whole life.”

Rookie Moves Gillman showed wisdom beyond her years in making that decision. Today, at age 22, she has earned more than $492,000 in her professional golf career. In early October she came in second behind Lee Jeongeun for the LPGA Tour’s 2019 Louise Suggs Rolex Rookie of the Year award. “This is the biggest rookie class [the LPGA] has had, so to be in the top two in that is a pretty big accomplishment,” she says. “I think I’ve had a really good year.”

“I always enjoy going to the next level of anything,” she explains. “I always wanted the next bigger amateur tournament, then looked forward to being a college golfer and then realized I could potentially be a pro. I enjoy competition and getting better,” she adds. “Working hard and seeing it pay off is what motivates me.”

One of her most exciting moments of the year came on October 25th, when she made her first career hole-in-one at the 2019 BMW Ladies Championship in South Korea. The shot won her a BMW 7 Series sedan.

“I’d never had a hole-in-one [professionally], so I didn’t want to get too excited,” Gillman told a reporter after the play. “It was nice to finally have my first hole-in-one. I’m just going to go out there and try to keep doing what I’m doing.”

All in the Family Her first year in the LPGA came on the heels of a successful amateur career, during which she won in 2014 both the Girls Junior PGA Championship and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. She won again in 2018. Gillman played college golf for the University of Alabama, where she often competed against older sister Emily, who played for the University of Nebraska.

“We grew up playing together as practice buddies and were on the same high school team for two years,” Gillman says of her sister. “We learned the sport through lessons on the course from our dad.”

‘Something Bigger Than Myself’ When she isn’t playing golf, Gillman likes to spend as much time as possible outdoors, going hiking or hanging out with friends. She is also committed to community service and has gone on three mission trips doing volunteer work over the past three years.

“It’s a way to give back and do something that’s bigger than just myself,” she explains. “I don’t have much free time, but I like to do that when I can.” Her next mission trip is to Costa Rica, which she’ll take with eight other University of Alabama student athletes. “We’ll be doing sports-oriented activities with children there.”

As for what’s next in her pro career, Gillman says she wants to take the lessons she’s learned so far to the next level. Her biggest goal is to win a professional tournament.

“Even though I’m playing at the highest level now, I just want to improve each year.”

GOOD DAYS

LAUREN PETROWSKI NEEDS NO CAMERAS TO CONNECT WITH AUSTIN By Shelley Seale

Lauren Petrowski knows about communicating, making connections and making transitions. From the roughly dozen years she spent at FOX 7 to her philanthropic work to her zeal for food, she seems always able to put her skills to use and to be ready for whatever comes her way. >>

Living the Dream (on Little Sleep) Originally from Phoenix, Petrowski first came to Austin to attend The University of Texas.

“I’ve had an interest in the news since high school and have always been comfortable with public speaking, so I decided to study broadcast journalism,” she shares. “I was able to get a job as a reporter in Corpus Christi after graduation. I was there for a little over a year before landing a job back in Austin in 2007.” That job was at KTBC FOX 7, where Petrowski worked almost every on-camera position: morning reporter, evening reporter and weekend anchor. Her dream, though, was to be the morning news anchor—a dream that came true when she was offered that opportunity on Good Day Austin.

events run smoothly. She recognized too how, in the case of nonprofit fundraisers, the enthusiasm the emcee brings can garner higher donations. Now freed of the super-early starts to her day, she began emceeing more events and accepting more public speaking to support many great causes around Austin.

One particular organization she’s passionate about is Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas, with which she’s been involved for more than 10 years.

“I was a big sister for five years and have been involved in the fundraising and event-planning side ever since,” she says. “I have seen firsthand how an adult role model can have such a positive impact, and every young person deserves that.”

Petrowski also took advantage of her career pivot to

“The most rewarding thing about the job was getting to meet so many people and tell their stories,” Petrowski says. “I love interviewing people and having the chance to share compelling and entertaining stories with viewers.”

The job came with its challenges, the biggest being the schedule. “As a morning anchor, I woke up at 2:30 AM to make it to work on time and be camera-ready for the start of our show at 4:30 AM. As you can imagine, I was always tired. Always.” In spite of the demands of the schedule, Petrowski loved going to work every day. The decision to leave in April 2019 was a tough one, she reveals but admits, “I knew I just couldn’t continue waking up at 2:30 AM and live the life I wanted outside of work.”

Her last day on air at FOX 7 was one of the most emotional of her life.

“I had been there for nearly 12 years, and my coworkers put together such a special goodbye show, highlighting my years as a reporter and anchor and all the big stories I had covered and fun moments during my time on TV in Austin,” she recalls.

Making Connections Petrowski in her post-TV life has capitalized on her experience in front of the camera and her love of public speaking to help organizations. Having emceed dozens of events during her TV career, she understood firsthand how an effective emcee helps

52 WATERWAYS | February 2020 focus on her other passion, cooking. On her Instagram page (@laurenpetrowski), she shares her favorite recipes, cooking demonstrations and an ongoing series called “Meatball Mondays.” “For as long as I can remember I have loved food and trying different cuisines,” she shares. “I enjoy cooking, but what I really love is getting to work with chefs and finding out what’s special about their recipes. It’s my dream to have a cooking show—but one where I’m the host, not the cook.” On her website (laurenpetrowski.com) she dishes about travel, parenting and other lifestyle topics. Each week she shares a roundup of local events that she calls “Petrowski’s Picks.”

So what are some of her favorite personal picks around town? Petrowski says her perfect day starts with a slow morning, sipping coffee and making pancakes for her four-year-old son. Afterwards, they might head to Zilker Park or the Barton Creek greenbelt and follow the outing with a meal at one of Austin’s fantastic restaurant patios.

“Preferably one that involves queso and margaritas,” she adds. “We’re so lucky to have so many great weather days here!” What’s next for Petrowski? The event she’s most excited about occurs in May, when she and her husband, Justin Poses, will welcome their second child, a daughter.

“For this period in my life, my focus is family. While I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself, I’m excited for the change, sleep and the unknown of what I will gain.”