1st time's charm for Miss Texas

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One should be Shilah Phillips' favorite number. The 25-year-old singer was crowned Miss Texas last year in her one and only try at capturing the title, which will be passed on to another young woman Saturday. The pageant is being held at Will Rogers Memorial Center Auditorium.

In an era when some young women spend years trying to achieve that goal, Phillips tried in her last year of eligibility.

"That was my only time," she said this week, flashing a bright smile at her naiveté about how pageants operate. "It was a one-shot thing."

Music is her passion, and she attended high school at the Denver School of Performing Arts. While a voice major at Collin County Community College, she was accepted to the University of North Texas' prestigious vocal jazz program, the same one where recording artist Norah Jones studied.

Phillips, an honor-roll student, worked three jobs but did not have enough money to pursue her dream.

"I was in a desperate situation," she said.

When friends suggested the Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant and the thousands of dollars it offers, she decided to enter a preliminary pageant. In borrowed clothes and a swimsuit she'd actually worn to a pool, she was named Miss Frisco, holding her shoulders as straight as her mother's friend had taught her.

Last year, as the field narrowed during the Miss Texas pageant, she said she could only concentrate on how much her scholarship fund was growing.

As she stood with only one other contestant, she remembers telling her, "Isn't this exciting? We're going to college!"

Even as she walked the runway where she was unsure what to do, she remembers, "I wasn't thinking 'I won a crown,' but 'I'm going to college.'"

Phillips' is the first African-American Miss Texas.

She is also the first rookie to win the title since 1980, said Randy Pruett, the unofficial Miss Texas historian.

Phillips went on to the Miss America Pageant where she was named first runner-up.

Her scholarship totals have reached nearly $41,000.

"This is a miracle," she said of her ability to complete her education at UNT. "This was a blessing from God. I needed this money. It's so fortunate I had this opportunity."

While serving as Miss Texas, she has spoken to more than 100,000 schoolchildren, said her business manager, Carol Fuller.

Phillips is frequently asked to give her inspirational talk.

"Every once in a while, there comes a girl with an 'it' factor," Fuller said. "I feel Shilah is the representative of that 'it' factor."

In the past year, Phillips has made her own lists of firsts: eating a homemade biscuit at Babe's Chicken Dinner House in Roanoke, tasting Dublin's Dr Pepper, meeting Dallas Cowboy veteran Emmitt Smith and riding a longhorn.

"Dreams can come true, especially when it comes to education," she said. "But there's hope. There's always hope, even when you feel like you've done all you can. You don't just quit. I didn't give up on myself."