Junior to compete for Miss America

A dream has come true for IU junior Bryn Lawton Chapman. She will have the chance to compete against 49 representatives from around the country for the Miss America competition that will take place Sept. 20.\nChapman was crowned as Miss Indiana on Saturday and will represent the Hoosier state as a part of the Miss America competition. Miss America is an organization that gives out scholarships for women.\n"We give $2.4 million in scholarships and about 25,000 in cash," said Gary Greiner, the board of directors president for the Miss Indiana Scholarship Association. "Actually, the Miss America program is the largest women's scholarship program in the United States."\nIf Chapman wins the Miss America competition, she will be rewarded with an even bigger scholarship. The 2002 Miss America winner took home a $50,000 scholarship for her efforts.\nThe contestants are not the only ones who benefit from the competition. One of the prerequisites for the contestants is a large amount of volunteer work. \n"(The contestants) each have to select a platform program and they have to spend hundreds of hours volunteering," said Bernice Baker, board of directors vice president for the Miss Indiana Scholarship Association.\n"And there are so many lives that are affected by their work," Baker said. "Some work with the elderly, some work with child issues, disease prevention, things like that."\nChapman's efforts have raised more than $150,000 for diabetes research as a member of the American Diabetes Association. \n"As Miss Indiana, I am now the state spokesperson for the American Diabetes Association, and I will always work with them because they are now like family," Chapman said.\nOn top of the money she has raised for the ADA, Chapman volunteers much of her time to her platform organization called SHINE, which stands for Strong Health is Nutrition and Exercise, which champions a balanced diet and exercise programs for better health. Chapman has devoted much of her life to SHINE.\n"When I was not at school or not doing homework, I was working with the program," Chapman said. "It's like working a full 40 to 50 hour week."\nChapman represented the South Central region as she competed with 19 other contestants from around the state for the Miss Indiana title. While Chapman met strong competition for the crown, she said the women were more supportive than one would think.\n"I've come to think of it as a performance where we had to perform together and we supported whoever won," Chapman said. "And everyone has been supportive of me since I won the title."\nWhile she gets ready for the Miss America competition in September, Chapman said she is truly grateful for what the program has done for her.\n"You could not give to this program as much as it gives to you," Chapman said.