At just 17, Scanlan became the youngest woman to be honored the title since its debut 90 years ago.
The youngest Miss USA
A recent high school graduate, the Nebraska beauty was the youngest contestant in Saturday’s pageant, and the youngest in the competition’s history.
Scanlan won over the seven judges, including The View’s Joy Behar and Dancing With The Stars pro Tony Dovolani, after strutting down the stage in a black bikini.
The beauty queen earlier in the evening played ‘White Water Chopsticks’ on piano.
Caressa Cameron, the Virginia beauty who was crowned Miss America last year, handed off the coveted crown to the new winner after a glamorous two-hour competition.
What she won?
The blonde beauty beat out 52 other beauty queens in the pageant’s 90th anniversary held at the Planet Hollywood casino-resort in Las Vegas on Saturday night to take home the title.
Besides the title, the sash and the glimmering tiara, Scanlan also won a $ 50,000 scholarship as part of her winnings.
Caressa Cameron, the Virginia beauty who was crowned Miss America last year, handed off the coveted crown to the new winner after a glamorous two-hour competition.
Scanlan wants to fight against eating disorders
According to People.com, Scanlan hopes to bring awareness to eating disorders during her year-long reign.
Scanlan got her inspiration from a friend who struggled with bulimia, an eating disorder characterized by a secretive cycle of binge eating followed by purging through self-induced vomiting, inappropriate use of laxatives or enemas, or excessive exercise.
« We simply can’t afford to let this issue go on because millions of girls and boys are out there dying form eating disorders. You can be this successful and you don’t have to hurt yourself, you don’t have to go to extremes, » Scanlan said.
« I never passed up a cookie on my journey here, » she joked.
Future plans
According to New York Daily News, the smiley teen also spoke with the Associated Press about her plans to register to vote when she turns 18 next month, telling the tabloid further that she will postpone her enrollment at Virginia’s Patrick Henry College to complete her reign.
Scanlan then plans to go to law school, become a judge and eventually get involved in the political world and stand up for what’s right, stand up for integrity and honesty.
« At this point, attorneys and politicians are looked down on and have terrible reputations for being greedy and power hungry and I really think it’s important for people who have their heart and mind in the right place get into those powerful positions, » she told the AP.
Miss USA talks about national security
The Daily reports that Scanlan also spoke out about national security in response to a question about the WikiLeaks scandal.
« You know when it came to that situation, it was actually based on espionage, and when it comes to the security of our nation, we have to focus on security first and then people’s right to know, because it’s so important that everybody who’s in our borders is safe and so we can’t let things like that happen, and they must be handled properly, » she said.
Among the five top finalists were Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan, Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady, Miss Hawaii Jalee Fuselier, Miss Oklahoma Emoly West and Miss Washington Jacquie Brown.
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