Francesca Ruscio, a Temple student from Bucks County, was crowned Miss Philadelphia. "It was a time for me to do something courageous," Ruscio said. She credits the competition with giving her new confidence: "I discovered a sense of self." She transferred to Temple after playing Division I golf for a college in the South, where she hadn't felt at home. At Temple, she studies broadcast journalism and has been a weather forecaster for Temple Update. She is also taking online broadcast meteorology courses through Mississippi State.