Washington ? When Erika Harold took her Miss America 2003 platform speech to East St. Louis High School last year, students were wowed by her ambitious goal: “I want to be the first black female president of the United States.”

This week, the Urbana, Ill., woman will get a firsthand look at the presidential nominating process when she addresses the Republican National Convention.

As Miss America, Harold broadened her platform — speaking out against bullying — to advocate abstaining from drugs, alcohol and premarital sex. But on Tuesday, the day she is tentatively scheduled to speak, she expects to talk about something more closely associated with President George W. Bush’s platform.

“More than likely I will be speaking about faith-based initiatives as they relate to prisoner rehabilitation,” said Harold, 24, who became aware of spiritual social service programs for prisoners during speaking engagements at maximum-security prisons.

“The emphasis I’ll be using in the speech is not so much promoting religion, but giving faith-based institutions the right to compete for federal dollars to support the social agencies that they have. I’m extraordinarily honored to have been invited to speak.”

This is the first national political convention for Harold. She’s been a Republican “for the past couple of years, at least” and is an Illinois delegate to the convention. But she has a new, temporary address: Cambridge, Mass., where she is set to begin the Harvard law school studies she postponed during her reign as Miss America.

She said a political career still appealed to her, although shooting for the presidency may be too lofty a goal to say out loud for now.