Erika Ebbel, a senior in chemistry, has won a $1,750 scholarship after being named second runner-up at the 2002 Miss Massachusetts competition. The contest was held June 8 in Fall River and determined Massachusetts' representative at the upcoming Miss America pageant.
Each of the 20 contestants for the Miss Massachusetts title had already won a preliminary pageant. Ebbel was named Miss Southern Massachusetts earlier this year ( MIT Tech Talk, Feb. 27, 2002 ).
The scholarship will be applied toward her final year of study at MIT. In addition to her chemistry major, Ebbel is a premed student interested in cardiology, and as such, sees more school on the horizon.
Ebbel also won a $150 Preliminary Talent Award for her classical piano performance at the contest. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, she is a music minor at MIT.
Ebbel entered her first pageant last fall at the insistence of a friend. She quickly learned the subtleties of competition, and following the event, the judges encouraged her to enter another contest. She took their advice and won the Miss Southern Massachusetts crown on her next outing.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on July 17, 2002.
