A young woman dedicated to mentoring girls on body image was crowned Miss Illinois 2011 Saturday night in Marion.
Hannah Smith, 19, gave up her reign as Miss Windy City to represent Illinois in personal appearances throughout the state.
She will speak on behalf of her own platform, as well as charities aided by the Miss America Organization and the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association.
She won an award earlier in the week in the preliminary swimsuit competition.
Her talent is ballet en pointe.
She is a sophomore at McHenry County College with a double major in business administration and dance performance, according to the Miss Chicago website.
She plans to transfer to a different college.
Hannah will also represent Illinois at the Miss America 2012 pageant, scheduled for January in Las Vegas.
Hannah hopes to be the sixth Miss Illinois to wear the Miss America crown.
Miss Illinois titleholders who went on to win the national pageant were:
Miss America 1927 Lois Delander;
Miss America 1968 Judith Ford;
Miss America 1991 Marjorie Vincent;
Miss America 1997 Katherine Shindle; and
Miss America 2002 Erika Harold.
For more information about the Miss Illinois Scholarship Association, visit its official website.
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