Rising Senior Will Compete For Miss Mass.

Harvard students are rewarded for more than just their intellectual abilities. This year a rising senior has the opportunity to become the next Miss Massachusetts-crowned for her beauty, talent and poise.

Laura M. Lawless '00, who is from Queens, N.Y., is one of 18 finalists across the state that will compete in the 60th Annual Miss Massachusetts Scholarship Pageant this Friday and Saturday nights.

The Quincy House resident and psychopathology concentrator will compete for the state title at Bristol Community College in Fall River.

Lawless will perform a piece by Frederick Chopin on the piano for the talent portion of the pageant.

The theme of this year's pageant is "Looking Into the Future" and will honor the 59 previous winners, including the 1998 Miss Massachusetts, Elizabeth E. Hancock '00.

The contestants will vie for scholarship money toward their college tuition. This year, the winner will receive at least $9,000 and the opportunity to compete for the Miss America title.

According to Lawless's mother, pageant rules forbid her daughter from making more than one phone call a day in the week before competition. Contestants live in an undisclosed location during the week before the pageant.