Miss Illinois made the first of her expected 300 appearances as pageant royalty in Tinley Park Friday.

Hannah Smith, 20, stopped in at Helen Keller Elementary School Friday morning to talk to students about Character Counts, a program used year-round.

“This is the first school I’ve visited as Miss Illinois, so this is exciting,” she said.

The Rockford-area resident said she woke up at 4:30 a.m. to make the drive and also planned to speak at John A. Bannes Elementary School.

Wearing her Miss Illinois crown, sash and some very high heels, Smith told students a little about herself. She drew them in immediately when she projected a photo of her favorite cartoon character, Sponge Bob Square Pants, onto a screen in the auditorium. Next was a photo of the Chicago White Sox, her favorite baseball team; one of her dancing ballet, a life-long passion; and a photo from the July 2 Miss Illinois Pageant,when she won her crown.

The third-, fourth- and fifth-graders did their best to keep quiet while she asked questions about the Character Counts program.

“How many of you think you know what character is?” Smith asked. A flurry of hands went into the air as students shared their answers from, “It shows who you are” to “personality” to “characters in a movie.”

She told the kids they can use the six pillars of the Character Counts program in school and at home every day by being good students, respecting their teachers and parents, being nice to their classmates and more.

Miss Illinois Hannah Smith. (Ashley Rueff/TribLocal)

“You always want to make good choices because you never know who is watching you and looking up to you,” she said.

The students promised to practice all six elements of the program–trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship–then they lined up to take photos with their new role model.

Smith will make 300 appearances during her reign as Miss Illinois, talking with students and attending fundraisers for the Children’s Miracle Network, an organization she hopes to support by raising $10,000 for during the next year.

Two months into her reign, Smith said she has undergone huge changes. She has delayed plans to major in dance performance and business at Northern Illinois University to take up her Miss Illinois duties.

“I went from being a server at Red Robin, a dance instructor and a student to being Miss Illinois overnight,” Smith said. “So you can imagine the lifestyle changes on a daily basis being in different parts of the state.”

Erin Duncan, school counselor at both Keller and Bannes, said Smith’s visit was a great way to get the kids excited about their character-building program and help them settle into the new school year.

“She did a wonderful job,” Duncan said. “It was definitely age appropriate. She got them involved standing up and moving around and everything.”

In between her regular duties as Miss Illinois, Smith said she’ll be preparing for and appearing in the Miss America Pageant held in Las Vegas Jan. 14.

For more information about Smith and her role as Miss Illinois, click here.