Sash and crown a step to cap and gown

This spring, thousands of high-school seniors will proudly count themselves among the graduating class of 2011. For many students, whether from big cities or small towns, like mine in Nebraska, the possibilities seem endless.

But they also face the very adult reality of affording a college education. As higher education costs skyrocket across the country, a generation of young Americans will cobble together family and personal savings, financial aid and decades of debt in order to prepare themselves for an increasingly competitive global economy.

My saving grace? The Miss America Scholarship Program. Yes, you read that correctly. Beyond the glitz and glitter of the stage, as it reads on its website: “The Miss America Organization is one of the nation's leading achievement programs and the world's largest provider of scholarship assistance for young women. Last year, the Miss America Organization and its state and local organizations made available more than $45 million in cash and scholarship assistance. This assistance is not just for the handful of young women who become Miss America, but is available to the over 12,000 young women who compete in the state and local competitions as well.”

In fact, every girl who competes walks away with a scholarship, making winners out of us all.

Even in our nation’s Capital, you don’t need to look far to find association CEOs, top industry lobbyists, and respected journalists who were given an opportunity to succeed thanks to a Miss America scholarship. I plan to use mine to join them here in Washington after I complete my undergraduate and law degrees.

Not every graduating senior is so lucky. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who I will meet with this week, lamented last August that while a generation ago the United States had the highest college graduation rate in the world, today it ranks 12th among developed countries in the percentage of young adults with college degrees. By supporting scholarship programs through individual generosity and federal initiatives, Americans can help close the gap and lower costs for deserving students everywhere.

During this year’s State of the Union, President Obama renewed his pledge to improve our education system and help strengthen our nation's competitiveness. On February 24, he pledged a new goal: by 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Those on the Republican side of the aisle who now lead work in the House are likewise committed. Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) has made it clear he is serious about bipartisan education reform, touting innovative student scholarship programs right here in the District as a model for the rest of the country.

As Miss America 2011, I have a unique platform to join the chorus of voices from my generation who want to make America stronger through education. Help the Class of 2011 achieve our dreams, and I promise we won’t let you down.

Teresa Scanlan is the Miss America 2011.