Location: The Heritage Foundation's Lehrman Auditorium
Erika Harold is Miss America 2003, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of
the University of Illinois, a three-time member of the National
Dean's List and is attending Harvard Law School. She hopes to
pursue a career in public interest law and public policy. Though
she almost quit the Miss America program, believing that officials
would never elect a woman with views as conservative as hers, her
persistence has paid off, not only in the pageant, but also
throughout her life. She has quickly found a role as a spokesperson
and lobbyist, embracing the issue of sexual abstinence and
affiliating with a part of the Illinois Family Institute. In this
new role, Erika promoted abstinence from all things that threaten
to harm the well-being of America's teens - alcohol, drugs and
sex.
A sponsor of one of her recent talks to a school said, "She was
lively, positive and entertaining, yet she presented a clear and
powerful message. Our students were spellbound from start to
finish. Perhaps equally importantly, Erika demolished once and for
all any lingering, long-standing beliefs that our students and
faculty had about what the Miss America Pageant is all about. She
shattered the 'it's only a beauty contest' perception with her wit,
intelligence, and caring."
Coffee and light refreshments available afterwards