Ellen Bryan once had an older sister who was radiant, vibrant, and athletic, but a tragic lightning strike radically changed both young women's lives.

In 2000, Bryan's sister, Christina, was struck by lightning while working at a golf course in Celina, Ohio, and was left unable to walk or speak. Now, the younger sister is talking to millions of people about lightning safety as Miss Ohio 2011 and as a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service lightning safety awareness campaign.

"Ever since the accident, I wanted to tell everyone I knew that lightning is dangerous," says Bryan, '11, telecommunications. "Lightning completely transformed my sister's life. We are very, very close. She is always with me. Even though she cannot speak, she talks to me through her eyes.

"When I found out about the safety awareness campaign, I contacted the National Weather Service to see how I could help. That led to my sister and I appearing in a public service announcement and a story in USA Today."

Bryan's experience as a telecommunications student at Ball State has helped her in her cause.

"Ball State has been instrumental in my approach to this campaign. I've applied what I learned in class and from the one-on-one interactions with faculty in the telecommunications department."

Phil Bremen, a Ball State telecommunications professor and Bryan's mentor, encouraged her to take the message to new audiences by entering the pageant circuit. In the 2009 Miss Ohio Scholarship Program, she finished fourth runner-up, and in the 2010 competition, she finished third runner-up and received the Miss America Community Service Award (her other philanthropic work includes visiting and fundraising for Haiti and volunteering for the American Red Cross and Dayton Children’s Medical Center). In 2011, she received a $10,000 scholarship, and the following January, she represented Ohio at the Miss America competition, where she was a finalist for the Quality of Life Award.

"I've known Ellen Bryan since her freshman year," Bremen says. "She has always been poised and radiant—but also unfailingly humble, despite all the plaudits she has earned along the way.

"Some people try to get by on their good looks. Not Ellen. She approached her studies intently and methodically. And she also found time for extracurricular activities that let her polish her talents but also were of service to the university. She's a great credit to her family and to Ball State."

Bryan, a 2010 Truman Scholarship finalist, plans to continue to stress the message about lightning awareness, speaking about the subject whenever and wherever possible.

"It only takes one instance of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time during a storm for them to be struck. Lightning can affect you or someone you love. Please, be smart in a thunderstorm, and always remember—when thunder roars, go indoors."