Eastern student Maria Piech will attempt to be crowned as the winner of Dream Girls USA Illinois State Pageant this weekend.

It might be hard to tell this by talking to Maria, though, because she does not fit the personality that many people believe a beauty queen would have.

“I am nowhere near superficial as most of the girls that take part in the beauty pageant. I am really shy when it comes to talking to people and often act the opposite than a girl who has won a beauty pageant,” Piech said.

There are several parts of Piech’s life that many people would not believe. Like the fact that the Oak Lawn native plays World of Warcraft and that some of her favorite movies include “Star Wars” and “Lord of the Rings.” Piech also prefers to listen to oldies music, such as the Monkeys and the Beatles, and she is obsessed with ’80s music. Piech said she was a tomboy throughout grade school and preferred boyish activities until high school.

Piech also talked about how her childhood and high school days were far from exciting, because she was always busy as a student, whether it was getting straight A’s in class or being part of the school’s many clubs. Piech belonged to theater club, science club, student council, National Honors Association, Yearbook society and the club soccer team.

“I really had no time to fit it in, because I was always busy with school or the clubs I was in. I was not really popular, because I did not have much confidence in myself and did not have as much freedom as other teens did,” Piech said.

Piech developed an interest in beauty pageants during her sophomore year when dressed up for her high school’s homecoming. Piech entered her first beauty pageant in 2005 when she entered the National America Miss pageant. Because it seemed that the odds were against her-during her talent performance, the audio for the song would not play right requiring her to sing a cappella-even her mother was surprised when the winner was announced.

“I nearly fell off my chair when she won the title (National America Miss) Miss Illinois talent,” said her mother, Edna Piech. “She was poised and professional. Her talent shined despite the audio problems. It’s unusual a person wins their very first pageant, yet Maria did.”

When it comes to a career, Maria is studying to become a special education teacher. Her goal is to win her next beauty pageant, which would give her a scholarship to a college of her choice for her graduate degree. She says she would pick either the University of Illinois Chicago or Columbia College. Piech would someday like to teach either in her hometown or in one of the neighboring cities.

Maria’s campaign for the pageant is the “Spread the word to end the word” movement, which aims to end the usage of the word “retard” as an insult.

Piech and her family are looking forward to the upcoming pageant, held in Schaumburg, and are hoping for the best. The Dream Girls USA Illinois State Pageant is not associated with Miss America Pageant; if Maria is crowned the winner, she will receive a scholarship and then move on to nationals.

Steven Puschmann can be reached at 581-7942 or [email protected]