Miss Nebraska Teresa Scanlan has at age 17 become the youngest Miss America to win the pageant since its debut 90 years ago.
Becoming the first Cornhusker State resident to win the crown, Scanlan beat out 52 other beauty queens to win a $50,000 scholarship at the Planet Hollywood casino-resort in Las Vegas on Saturday night.
Scanlan won over the seven judges after strutting down the stage in a black bikini and playing "White Water Chopped Sticks" at the piano.
The blond teen told the Associated Press she plans to register to vote when she turns 18 next month and will defer her enrollment at Virginia's Patrick Henry College to complete her reign.
She then plans to go to law school and eventually become a politician 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.
Teresa Scanlan shows off her wares during the Miss America pageant. (AP)
On Saturday night, she 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.
Scanlan, whose platform issue was eating disorders, said she "never passed up a cookie" while traveling to the pageant.
She is reportedly the youngest Miss America to win since the 90-year-old pageant put in age limits in 1938 (though in 1921, its first year, the pageant crowned 15-year-old Margaret Gorman from District of Columbia queen).
"From 17 to 24, that can be a huge age range," Scanlan told the AP. "But with these girls, they are all at the highest level imaginable."
Among them was Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady, who as first runner-up won $25,000. Miss Hawaii Jalee Fuselier came in third place and won $20,000.
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