Miss Philadelphia gleams with pride

The smile on Ryann Richardson's face was as bright as the gems on her tiara yesterday - just hours after she was crowned Miss Philadelphia.

Richardson, 19, a sophomore at Philadelphia University, was still basking in the glow of winning a scholarship and the honor of going on to compete in the Miss Pennsylvania pageant.

"It's not easy to describe the feeling of a Miss Philadelphia crown being placed on your head," said the jubilant Richardson, who said she hoped to make it all the way to the Miss America pageant.

Richardson grew up in Maryland and came to the city to attend Philadelphia University, where she is majoring in fashion-industry management.

She grew up watching fashion shows on cable, so it was not a big stretch for her to make her way to the runway world of beauty pageants.

Richardson said she hoped to combine her love of fashion and public relations, and eventually get a job doing in-house public relations for Chanel.

"That's the dream job, somewhere in the future," she said.

For now, Richardson said she would make good use of the $10,000 from the Miss Philadelphia Scholarship Organization. And if she decides to go to Drexel University, another sponsor, she said she would receive another $10,000 in scholarship money to fund her studies there.

She said she was drawn to the world of pageants in part because of the prospect of scholarships. "That's something hard to pass up, especially in this economy," she said.