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30/10/2017
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Allison Shapiro 815-937-3385 9 hrs ago 0
Erika Harold, 2003 Miss America and Republican candidate for Illinois attorney general, was the guest speaker at YES Magazine's Woman of the Year Awards Thursday night at the Kankakee Country Club. "Sometimes challenges are given to you because they will be the vehicle to make you an agent of change," she said during her inspiring speech.
Joe Boyer
The area's best and brightest women gathered Thursday night at the Kankakee Country Club to honor their own. More than 175 people were there to recognize this year's YES Magazine Woman of the Year, Vurnice Maloney, finalists Sandra Knight and Brooke Payne, and another equally dynamic woman: guest speaker Erika Harold, Republican candidate for Illinois Attorney General and Miss America 2003.
The event recognized outstanding women leaders in the area, and Harold was no exception. She gave a keynote speech about her own experiences overcoming adversity. As a victim of high school bullying, she initially wanted to become a lawyer to empower herself and others.
"Young ladies, overcoming adversity will be your choice and your biggest challenge," said Small Newspaper Group Vice President of Finance Sally Hendron, addressing young women leaders from Bishop McNamara Catholic School, Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School and Kankakee High School, who were specially invited to the event. "And Erika knows about overcoming adversity."
Harold told the audience about the cruel and horrifying experience of being a 13-year-old victim of racial and sexual harassment.
It began with taunting and name calling at school and, over time, escalated to having to call the police after items were thrown through the window of her family's home. Perhaps one of the most startling incidents was the day she overheard classmates talking about pooling lunch money to buy a rifle to shoot her. The principal's reaction? "You need to learn how to be more submissive like other girls and not stand up."
She left the school for her safety, but was left feeling powerless. She was bitter, but ultimately made the choice to forgive, believing God leads you in different directions for a reason.
"Sometimes challenges are given to you because they will be the vehicle to make you an agent of change," she said.
Little did she know that God would answer her prayers to be a voice for prayers.
A graduate of the University of Illinois, Harold was accepted into her dream school — Harvard Law School — but didn't have the tuition: $175,000 for three years. So she took her college advisor's unconventional but creative advice for paying for it: Enter the Miss America Pageant and use the scholarship money for school if she won the crown.
She competed against dozens of other women from across the country and — amazingly — she won.
"I ended up winning a local pageant in my community in Champaign-Urbana, won the Miss Illinois pageant, and by God's grace and providence, ultimately did become Miss America."
It's an incredible and inspiring story. Not only did she have the money to put herself through law school, she devoted her platform to helping kids, starting a national conversation about bullying in schools as she traveled across the country giving talks about her own experiences of being bullied.
"My life had come full circle," said Harold, of Urbana, "and the most powerful part of my year [as Miss America] was standing in gymnasiums in high schools and telling my story. And the students would come up afterward and pour their hearts out."
Those same experiences are what led her to run for attorney general. She said she wants to make sure everyone is treated equally under the law and that there are no barriers keeping people from being treated fairly.
While campaigning, Harold works at Meyer Capel, a prestigious Champaign law firm, and advocates for prison reform, serving on the national board of directors for Prison Fellowship, a ministry program focused on second chances. She encouraged the young women in the audience to find their own passions and voices.
"You can't be a real agent for change if all you're trying to do is not draw attention and be invisible," said Harold, who said she was in awe of the this year's Women of the Year winners and their "courage, compassion, and advocacy."
"It's inspiring to see people being honest and open with people they don't even know; it motivates us to be like that and help people," said Ashley McCord, a senior at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School.
"These women tonight aren't just doing great things, they want to inspire others to do great things too," added Grace Pallissard, another BBCHS senior.
Maureen Hollohan, a student at Bishop McNamara, hopes to learn a trade and join the male-dominated pipefitters union someday. "Women in politics is something needed to change the world," she said. "We need our opinions in the military services and in creating jobs. We need our power, and the world needs our opinions."
After the event, Harold visited with some of the students.
"It was great they came tonight," Harold said. "The entire event was so inspiring, and it made me feel positive that they resonated with my experiences. Each of them serves in a leadership position in her school. It was a delight to see so many strong young women working to make a difference in their schools."
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