MISS AMERICA PAGEANT Contestant loves being onstage, performing

Miss Pennsylvania is passionate about helping poverty-striken Americans.
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) -- Candace Mari Otto has been wowing people since she first set foot onstage as a young girl.
At age 23, she has done it again. Otto was crowned Miss Pennsylvania on July 12 in Nazareth, Pa. A native of the Pittsburgh area, Otto now is setting her sights on winning the Miss America crown during the pageant in September in Atlantic City, N.J.
"It's sinking in slowly but surely," said Otto. "It's been extremely hectic."
After she was crowned, the whirlwind of activity included traveling to New York to work with a designer on the gowns she'll wear in the Miss America pageant.
After she celebrated with her parents for a few hours on pageant night, her schedule didn't include more family time until early August -- when she was finally due back in town to sing at a Pittsburgh Pirates game.
Otto is from Murrysville, Pa., about a 20-minute drive east from Pittsburgh.
Her love of performing began at a very early age, said her mother, Audia Otto, also of Murrysville.
Otto was stage-struck when she went to see a children's play performed by the Pittsburgh Playhouse Junior Theater.
"We were in one of the first rows, and when the curtain went up, Candace just stood there for the entire performance," her mother said.
"She was little, so no one minded. She was so taken in with the theater."
"After the performance was over, she said she wanted to do that some day."
Her mother enrolled her in acting classes at the Pittsburgh Playhouse.
"The next thing you know, people from movie companies who were coming to Pittsburgh to film were calling Candace to appear in the movies," her mother said.
Movie roles
Ultimately, Otto appeared in "Roommates" with Peter Falk and Julianne Moore, and in "Only You," starring Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr.
At age 10, she also appeared in the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's "Evita."
During her school years, she performed in several other mainstage performances for the CLO and in local theater productions as well.
Otto has become equally passionate about causes off the stage. As a student at Shady Side Academy, in Fox Chapel, Pa., she began tutoring students and learning about the effects of poverty.
Later, while studying theater at Northwestern University, in Evanston, Ill., she co-founded a National Student Partnership office, a student-driven volunteer group that links Americans in need with the resources to help with employment, self-sufficiency and personal success.
Otto hopes to use her crown, on the state or national level, to combat problems related to poverty in the United States.
She already is scheduling meetings and building alliances with organizations that can help.
Otto said that being able to be a spokeswoman for a cause is the most appealing aspect of becoming involved with the pageant.
At age 16, she competed in the Miss Pennsylvania Teen USA pageant, held in Monroeville, Pa., but found that without a cause to support, the event wasn't for her. She left the pageant scene, not expecting to return.
But while she was a student at Northwestern, Otto realized state pageants had more to offer -- specifically, the opportunity to work for her cause and win some help with student loans.
"When I learned about all the scholarship money they give away -- $45 million a year to women -- and that I would have a chance to promote the National Student Partnership, it just all clicked together at once."
Perks
Before she entered her senior year, Otto competed in the Miss Illinois state pageant. Although she didn't win the title, she said it was great experience.
"When you win, you are immediately on 'Good Morning America' and 'David Letterman' and those shows, so you have to go there being ready for the job," Otto said. "You compete for a crown, but you are really competing for the job. You need to prepare for that job."
"But even if I don't get the job as Miss America, I'll be even better as Miss Pennsylvania because of the experience that I have gained."
When her stint with pageantry has ended, Otto said she hopes to have a career in opera. She studied with opera instructor Claudia Pinza and spent time perfecting her skills in Italy last year.
For the talent portion of the Miss America pageant, she will perform the Italian song "Non Ti Scordar Di Me" ("Don't Forget Me").
Otto's mother said she and her husband, William, haven't had much time to spend with their daughter since she was crowned Miss Pennsylvania.
"Candace is such a beautiful person inside and outside. She has worked hard all her life in community service. She has always been involved," her mother said.
"So this whole experience with the Miss America organization is such a wonderful combination for Candace. It's going to help her pay off the student loans she has; she will be able to perform, and she will be able to help these charities that she is so passionate about.