Miss America 2017: Miss Arkansas, Savvy Shields!

Even though we're still in awe over Miss America 2016's winning dress, another year has come and gone, and a new Miss America has been crowned! The Miss America 2017 pageant was held this past Sunday in our very own hometown of Atlantic City, NJ. It was certainly a fun event to watch, especially with the presidential election coming up.

While all 51 of the contestants looked beautiful and had the talent and smarts to back up that beauty, Miss Arkansas, Savvy Shields, walked away with the Miss America 2017 crown.

With a first name like Savvy, we expected her to have some savvy skills, and she definitely did! During the talent portion, she put on an amazing jazz routine, which won her the preliminary talent competition earlier in the week.

She was asked a controversial question about Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton during the question-and-answer portion of the competition. The judge asked, "Hillary Rodham Clinton, what do you think?" 

Savvy had a little chuckle at the question, and then responded: "If you're trying to be leader of the free world, everything you say and do matters. All of your actions are held to a higher standard. Unfortunately, the media loves to sensationalize everything and it's hard to tell what is truth and what is truly scandal. I think going back to what my previous contestants said, both of these candidates have done a good job of competing, but they also need to watch what they're doing." Watch the response in the below video from the Miss America competition.

At 21 years old, and with Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell passing off her crown, Savvy has a year of public service ahead of her as the new Miss America, and we can't wait to see all of the wonderful things she does. After her run as Miss America, she will return to the University of Arkansas as a senior, where she'll be studying art. Talking about future plans, she explained, "I want to hopefully work in a museum and teach at a collegiate level." Those sound like great future plans to us!

The below video is of Savvy at the Miss America press conference, thanking her family and hometown. She's clearly a classy gal!

Miss South Carolina Rachel Wyatt was the first runner-up; Miss New York Camille Sims was the second runner-up; Miss Washington Alicia Cooper was the third runner-up; and Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis was the fourth runner-up.

We're so excited to see what our new Miss America 2017 will bring to the table, but we certainly won't forget Miss America 2016, Betty! She went out in style all week long, looking stunning in custom Sherri Hill gowns. Check out the pretty Betty Cantrell below!

Good luck to our new Miss America! We can't wait to see what the year ahead brings for you!

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