HAGERSTOWN, MD - The new Miss Maryland was crowned Saturday night.

"Never in a lifetime would I imagine that I would be Miss Maryland and going to Miss America. That's really awesome," she said.

There's reason this North Hagerstown High grad is still in shock, she only started competing in pageants this year.

"The financial aid department had emailed her giving her the information about the scholarship pageant for money to help out with school and she thought, 'Let me just give this a shot,'" says Linda Colella, Carlie's mother.

Colella is a senior at Hood College.  Her main goal is to empower women, something the 20-year-old has mastered.

"Something just clicked and I was like, '"You know, I need to do things for me, I've always worried about other people,'" says Carlie.

So when she didn't have a dress for one of her first pageants, she wasn't too embarrassed to ask for help.

"The one I wore for local I borrowed from my boyfriend's sister, it was her old prom dress," she said.

It's that confidence Colella's mom says brought them through tough times.

"I just cannot imagine being her age and going through what she has gone through, and handling it the way she has handled it," says Linda. "She is like a pillar of strength."

Linda Colella has two jobs and she's thankful the Miss Maryland Organization is standing by it's philosophy that no contestant should rack up debt during pageants.

"We knew what our limitations were financially and we thought we are going to  make the best of this," Linda says.

As Carlie gets ready for the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas next year, there's one thing on her mind: to bring the crown to Maryland.

If that happens, it would a first because the state has never won the title.

As the new Miss Maryland, Colella gets a $10,000 scholarship.