Furman senior crowned Miss South Carolina USA

When most seniors are looking forward to their cap and gown, Rachel Law will be busy working for a crown.Law, who is the current Miss South Carolina USA, beat out nearly fifty girls for her title at the state competition the weekend before Thanksgiving and was crowned on Nov. 21, 2009 at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center. In April, she will travel to Las Vegas to spend three weeks that will culminate in the nationwide competition for Miss USA.

Law grew up in Greenville and began competing in pageants at age 13. She was not very fond of pageantry before her first competition. "I really wasn't having a good time," said Law. "I just wanted to be out on the lake with my best friend, but I ended up winning, and after I won, I was like, 'Oh, this is awesome!'"

Now, she said, "I enjoy competing...On this level, you have so many opportunities to meet really interesting people," Law said.

After taking a break for a few years, Law competed in Miss Teen South Carolina and placed in the top five for three years in a row. At Furman she decided to take some more time off to focus on her sorority responsibilities, friends and academics. Last spring, after studying abroad in Turkey, Greece and Italy, she was ready to return to pageantry.

"I'd turned 21 this year and had my cultural experience and thought it would be a good year to go back and try for Miss South Carolina," Law said. "I'd wanted to go back. I always go to have a good time, and you never know what the outcome is going to be, but I've made great friends through it."

Being elevated to this level of competition carries with it a new level of responsibility. "There's always something in the back of your mind, you know," Law said. "You always try to be a responsible individual and now, people do recognize who I am."

Law has gotten to participate in many community and service-oriented activities through her pageantry. Besides making various appearances and interviews, she regularly volunteers with Queen for a Day, a program in which pageant winners visit young cancer patients in the hospital and give them school supplies, manicures, crowns and parties. This winter, she rang the bells for the Salvation Army and this coming summer she will participate in the Special Olympics in Charleston.

On April 1 she will travel to Las Vegas, nearly three weeks before her actual competition night. During this time, she will engage in promotional events for the pageant, photo shoots, practice for the program and preliminary interviews.

Before then, though, she must take care of her wardrobe - including getting a locally-made custom evening gown - and making sure that she is in top physical condition. She works out almost every day in the PAC and goes to see a personal trainer once per week. She admits she is not a very healthy eater, so she is working on cutting troublesome foods from her diet.

"I think pageants have gotten a lot of bad press and those are just a few instances when, on a whole, you do a lot more and a lot of great things with them," Law said. Pageants can provide both networking and scholarship opportunities, as well as new friendships and fun.

The Miss USA pageant will be broadcast live on NBC on April 18. Contestants will be judged in the categories of evening gown, swimsuit and interview. The top five competitors will participate in a live, onstage interview. Winning would mean a year of living in Trump Towers in New York City, making appearances, volunteering and attending red carpet events.