Candace Otto reflects on her year as Miss Pennsylvania

Candace Otto, of Murrysville, maintains her tenure as Miss Pennsylvania has not been all that different from any other job. Well, OK, she admits, perhaps just a little more hectic than most jobs.

"It's one of those things where you don't want it to go any faster because the experience is only going to last a year. But you don't necessarily need it to go any slower, either," she says, jokingly.

Either way, Otto says she's had the time of her life since accepting the Miss Pennsylvania title last July. Regrets• There aren't any, assures the 23-year-old. And that includes the Miss America Pageant -- held last September in Atlantic City, N.J. -- where she was eliminated from competition when the top 15 were chosen.

"I went to Atlantic City wanting to be ready to be a great Miss America, knowing that would not only make me a better Miss Pennsylvania, but a better person," says Otto, who won the pageant's Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Award. "That was my goal, and I wanted to go there knowing I wouldn't have any regrets of any kind."

"We're the kind of family that believes everything happens for a reason," says her mother, Audia Otto, also of Murrysville. "So, I think we left Atlantic City very proud that she prepared herself for the job of Miss America, knowing if she didn't get it, she would make a terrific Miss Pennsylvania."

After nearly a year of crisscrossing the state as both performer and advocate, Otto will relinquish her state crown at the 2004 Miss Pennsylvania Scholarship Pageant, held June 24-26 in Nazareth, Northampton County,

"You don't realize who you touch," says the Murrysville resident. "That's been so shocking to me throughout this entire year."

She cites a soldier stationed in Afghanistan, who e-mailed her after reading one of the monthly Miss Pennsylvania newsletters. Otto, in turn, sent autographed photos to his entire company -- and the two have been corresponding ever since.

"He's told me it really meant a lot to them that I was taking the time to write," she says. "And he wanted me to know that on Valentine's Day, they were going to have a flag flown for me over there. I just got it in the mail. It's so neat -- a piece of history."

The downside• "The travel is hard -- between 2,000 and 4,000 miles a month by car. I will not miss that," Otto says, laughing. "And you'd think I would have learned how to pack after all this. But I'm still terrible at it."

Before she packs (terribly) for the final time, Otto says she'd like to "go out with a bang." To that end, she is helping organize "A Celebration of Student Service," to be held June 4 at the Pittsburgh Athletic Association in Oakland. The black-tie optional gala will feature an evening of dining, entertainment, "and some really special things," notes Otto. Additionally, she says, Saks Fifth Avenue, Henne Jewelers and Carl W. Herrmann Furs Inc., have agreed to donate luxury items for raffle throughout the evening.

All proceeds will benefit National Student Partnerships -- a nonprofit, student-driven group linking needy Americans with services such as child care, job training and transportation. In 2000, while attending Northwestern University, Otto co-founded the NSP office in Evanston, Ill. Since that time, the

organization has grown to 14 offices, one of which is located in Pittsburgh.

"Our goal is to raise at least $25,000. And I think we can do that," says Otto, adding such an amount would cover nearly half of NSP-Pittsburgh's operating costs for the year. "I'm excited about being able to hand them that check, knowing how far it will go."

After she crowns her successor, the former Miss Pennsylvania will be on a plane to Italy, where the next five weeks will be spent studying at the renowned Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera. Beyond that, however, the future remains somewhat uncertain. Otto hints about a future in politics, but emphasizes she'll most likely "give this opera thing a good shot first."

"I believe that Candace's voice was a gift given to her by God. And what she does with her voice is her gift back to God," Audia Otto says. "But if she decides to go into politics at some point, we would support her in that, too.

"There is never a dead end for Candace," her mother adds. "Just another fork in the road."

'A Celebration of Student Service'

When: June 4

Where: Pittsburgh Athletic Association, Fifth Avenue and Bigelow Boulevard, Oakland

Tickets: $160

Info: For an invitation, call Jeri Greaf at 724-935-0975. For more information on NSP, contact Elena Boyd at 888-677-2022 or send an e-mail to eboyd@nspnet.org. Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to National Student Partnerships, 800 Seventh Street N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20001.