Before walking down the aisle in Atlantic City, N.J., and winning Miss America this weekend, Erica Harold started her pageant career as Miss Kishwaukee Valley 2000.

While holding that title, Harold was one of the titleholders who was part of the “Power of Abstinence” celebration, which took place Jan. 12 in Chicago.

That also was her platform while competing for the Miss Illinois pageant. She qualified for the pageant after winning the Miss Land of Lincoln competition in February.

“I am really excited about the possibility of being paid for a year to go around the state and talk about issues that mean the most to me,” Harold told www.illinoisleader.com about the Miss Illinois pageant.

Harold won Miss Illinois after three tries and competing against her 20-year-old sister.

For the Miss America pageant, her platform was about empowering youth against violence.

Harold chose this cause because as a ninth grader, she was bullied and harassed, racially and sexually, and was forced to change schools.

She hopes to show the victims of bullies that they are not alone.

“These children feel so persecuted that they feel they have no choice but to take a weapon,” Harold told the Associated Press. “We have got to, as a country, change the way we view violence.”

Harold also plans to promote anti-violence and anti-bullying programs during her reign as Miss America.

For the talent portion of the pageant, Harold sang “Habanera,” a song from the opera “Carmen.”

She also answered 10 out of the 16 questions in the pop culture quiz correctly.

The last time Miss Illinois won the national title was Kate Shindle in 1998.

Harold is a 2001 University of Illinois graduate.

She won a $50,000 scholarship for winning the competition, and her total comes to thousands from winning the state crown and other preliminaries.

Harold plans to attend Harvard Law School in 2003. She wants to become a lawyer and eventually seek political office in state and national levels.

Miss Alabama Scarlotte Deupree was first runner-up, Miss Oklahoma Casey Preslar was second runner-up and Miss Nevada Teresa Benitez was third runner-up.

The Chicago Tribune, www.missamerica.com and the Associated Press contributed to this report.