The Miss Pima County crown was passed this weekend from one UA student to another. 

Kathryn Bulkley, veterinary sciences freshman, was named Miss Pima County 2010 after Tanya Valladares, physiology senior and Miss Pima County 2009, “”passed the torch”” to Bulkley on Saturday night.

As the audience cheered in the auditorium of Flowing Wells High School, Bulkley’s sorority sisters in Chi Omega all shouted her name in excitement.

“”It’s my dream to be Miss America and this is the very first stepping stone to the rest of my life,”” Bulkley said.

Bulkley sang “”Nessun Dorma,”” an opera piece from the ‹ª nal act of Giacomo Puccini’s opera “”Turandot.”” Bulkley has been involved in pageants since she was a junior in high school.

She entered this year’s Miss Pima County pageant to earn money for college, she said. Bulkley received $1,679 for winning according to the pageant’s Web site.

The competition is a great way for women to “”get out there and express how the they feel on certain issues,”” she said.

Her outreach platform was the “”ABCs of Water Safety.”” Bulkley was a lifeguard for four years and said she would like to educate families on drowning prevention, because drowning has become a serious issue in Arizona .

It is a requirement to raise $100 to be a contestant in the pageant, which supports the Children’s Miracle Network , she said. Bulkley’s family has shown a great deal of support as well. Her mother Pamela Bulkley, Miss Hawaii 1981, said she was proud that to see her daughter competing, but Kathryn Bulkley made it clear that the pageant was not forced upon her.

“”My mother doesn’t put any pressure on me, she isn’t one of those typical pageant moms,”” she said.

Kathryn Bulkley said one of her goals in competing was to break down Ed Flores Photography stereotypes about “”pageant girls.””

“”I wanna show people that we are sophisticated women who go on to do amazing things,”” she said. Audrey Sibley, the pageant’s co-executive director, said she has also been working to change public perception of the pageant since she took the reins in 2005.

It’s not just a beauty pageant, she said. It is a “”self development program.””

Out of the 11 contestants, seven of the women were UA students. This was the first year the pageant was “”open,”” meaning that girls who live outside Pima County were able to participate.

Not every city offers a pageant and winning a local pageant is a requirement to go on to Miss Arizona. Which was ideal for Kathryn Bulkey, a Mesa resident.

The competition included five categories: talent, interview, evening wear, swimwear and on-stage questioning.

Lisa Schmidt, a psychology and criminal justice freshman, is Kathryn Bulkley’s “”little sister”” in Chi Omega.

“”I’m so proud of her, it was amazing to watch her,”” Schmidt said. “”Katy (Kathryn) is a champ at balancing everything, so she will be able to handle everything with no problem,”” she added.

Kathryn Bulkley will continue to balance work on her outreach platform with her studies and prepare for upcoming pageants, Pamela Bulkley said.

“”She has plenty of time to prepare for Miss Arizona,”” she said.