Our Sharalynn takes the Miss America stage!

-

Five years ago around this time Southington High School senior Sharalynn Kuziak had just completed her mid-term exams. Today, she's in Las Vegas, little more than 12 hours from taking the stage at the 2010 Miss America pageant.

-

The 2005 SHS graduate, who was crowned Miss Connecticut in June of last year, will be representing the state at the pageant, which will be broadcast live at 8 p.m. on the TLC cable network.

-

Kuziak has been in Las Vegas since the preliminary competition kicked off last week. She recently told the Hartford Courant that her platform will be the healing power of music. Kuziak, who plays the piano and is a singer and dancer, says she strongly believes in the therapeutic use of music and performance for those who are ill.

-

The 22-year-old recently graduated from Quinnipiac University with a degree in legal studies and a minor in music. Kuziak says plans to attend law school were put on hold when she became Miss Connecticut.

-

If the SHS alumnus is crowned Miss America tonight, she will be the first woman from Connecticut to win the title since 1933. Forty-seven years ago the town rallied around its first Miss Southington to become Miss Connecticut and, in turn, represent the state at the Miss America pageant. Though she didn't win, Valerie Dale Stetson won a scholarship for her ballet dancing. (She died in 1998). Lauren Bergamo, a 1997 SHS grad, was Miss Hamden when she was named Miss Connecticut and represented the state at Miss America in 1998. She now lives in California.

-

To follow Sharalynn Kuziak in her own words, go to http://missct09.livejournal.com/25014.html