A queen will be attending MSU as a student this fall.

Biological sciences senior Courtney Fountain was named the 2005-06 National Cherry Queen at this year's National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, Mich. As queen, she will travel across Michigan and the nation as a spokeswoman for the cherry industry and receive an $8,000 college scholarship, which Fountain said she will use at MSU.

"The reality of it is just now sinking in," she said. "It's something I've wanted to do since I was little."

Fountain said it was an opportune time in her life to go for the crown.

Chuck O'Connor, director of marketing for the National Cherry Festival, said Fountain's role as queen will do a lot to promote the cherry industry.

"Historically, the queens would travel to the Today Show, Rose Bowl, Washington, D.C., Lansing and other festivals," he said. "She'll speak at a number of cherry-related events."

There were five competitors at this year's festival. The candidates were chosen from a preliminary competition in May, where they were selected based on interviews and prepared speeches.

At the festival, the candidates were judged on the way they presented themselves, she said.

"We were secretly judged by six judges," she said. "We didn't know who they were, and they watched us interact with the general public."

The position of National Cherry Queen is a job more than a title, Fountain said.

"It's not a pageant," she said. "There's no swimsuit competition."

Many of the events at which Fountain will appear are scheduled during the school year. Fountain said past queens have had conflicts with classes and cherry-related events.

"That'll be one of the first things I tell my teachers in the fall," she said. "School definitely comes first, and the director of the program knows that."

Fountain said most of the events are held on the weekend, and few are in the middle of the day.

O'Connor said she can skip events if they don't fit into her schedule.

"She'll have to make those decisions," he said. "Generally, we work around those things."

Fountain said she's expected to speak on the cherry industry.

"I'm focusing on the medicinal (properties)," she said.

Fountain said most of what she knows about cherries comes from the library and Internet. She will work closely with the Cherry Marketing Institute to gather most of her information.

Her title lasts one year. She will be replaced on July 8, 2006, she said.

"It's a year I'll never forget," she said.