Published: June 23, 2008 11:59 am      

Here She Is...

Miss Allegany County wins state title in HagerstownHAGERSTOWN (AP) - Louise Schlegel has her eyes on Hollywood. Winning the Miss America pageant was a more recent dream.

HAGERSTOWN (AP) - Louise Schlegel has her eyes on Hollywood. Winning the Miss America pageant was a more recent dream.

Schlegel, a 20-year-old rising senior at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and the reigning Miss Allegany County, was crowned Miss Maryland 2008 on Saturday at the Maryland Theatre in Hagerstown and will compete to be Miss America in January.

Swanton resident Joanna Guy, 16, won the title of Miss Maryland's Outstanding Teen. Guy has been in the local media quite a few times in recent years. In 2006, Guy won Miss Teen Cumberland and last year earned the top spot in the Miss Teen Allegany County competition.

"I guess in the scheme of things, it's really a rather fresh or new dream of mine," Schlegel said of winning Miss America.

Schlegel of Silver Spring is an acting major at UMBC and hopes the pageant will give her valuable experience as she tries to launch a film career. She's excited about "Miss America: Reality Check," the reality TV show that the 52 Miss America competitors will participate in.

She's on a full scholarship at UMBC, but she intends to put the $9,000 cash scholarship she won Saturday night toward a master's degree in acting. Before that, though, she hopes to find work in film or on stage.

"I would like to work professionally and get a feel for the industry," she said.

Schlegel was one of 20 young women from across the state to participate in the annual pageant, held at the Maryland Theatre in Hagerstown.

Schlegel sang "If I Had My Way" in the talent competition, and her platform is "Adoption is an Option, Not a Last Resort." More Americans should consider adoption as a way to expand their families and help children in need, said Schlegel, who has an adopted older brother named Christopher.

"I think that a lot of people are terrified by the idea that they will not be able to love an adopted child in the same way that they can love a biological child. I know from personal experience that that's not the case," Schlegel said. "It really comes down to the family dynamic, the trust, the time that you put into building that relationship with a child, regardless of genetics."

Guy, competing as Miss Teen College Park, was the best of 21 competitors in her division and won a $500 scholarship. The straight-A student who is going into her senior year at Southern Garrett High School sang "I Could Have Danced All Night" from the musical, "My Fair Lady." She is the student representative to the Garrett County Board of Education.

She will next compete in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant Aug. 12-16 in Orlando, Fla. Guy said the Maryland pageant training was readying her for nationals, so "hopefully, I'm already ready and prepared to go. I was the most prepared that I could be" for the Maryland competition.

Guy has narrowed her college choices to Cornell University, Yale University and Georgetown University. She plans to major in either political science or literature and minor in music.

Staff writer Kevin Spradlin contributed to this story. He can be reached at kspradlin@times-news.com.