Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields won the coveted Miss America 2017 crown on Sunday night at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Shields became the winner after beating 51 other contestants.
Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell crowned Shields the winner of Miss America 2017 in a glittering ceremony on Sunday night. Apart from the crown, Shields takes home a $50,000 scholarship and a six-figure salary. Shields will also start her "year of service" from Monday morning after a ceremonial toe-dip in the Atlantic Ocean, according to NJ.com.
While Shields was crowned Miss America 2017, Miss South Carolina Rachel Wyatt became the first runner-up and won a $25,000 scholarship. Miss New York Camille Sims, who won $20,000, was the second runner-up, Miss Washington Alicia Cooper, who won $15,000, was the third runner-up and Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis, with a $10,000 scholarship, was the fourth runner-up.
Shields, a senior fine arts major and business minor at the University of Arkansas, was asked about her opinion on the presidential Hillary Clinton during the question and answer round.
"If you're trying to be a leader of the free world, everything you say and do matters and all of your actions are held to a higher standard. Both of the contestants have done a good job but they also need to watch what they're doing," Shields said.
During a press conference, post the Miss America 2017 finale, Shields was asked to elaborate on her views on Clinton and America's political climate.
"Our country was founded on compromise. I really think we're in a state now where both parties seem to just be yelling at each other. I hope that by the end of my year, we're starting to reward politicians on compromising instead of just defending themselves," she said during the press conference.
Here is the list of top 15 contestants:
- Miss Arkansas
- Miss South Carolina
- Miss New York
- Miss Washington
- Miss Mississippi
- Miss Kentucky
- Miss Massachusetts
- Miss Idaho
- Miss Iowa
- Miss Texas
- Miss California
- Miss Oklahoma
- Miss Maryland
- Miss Tennessee
- Miss Louisiana
