Miss District of Columbia Kára McCullough was crowned as the new Miss USA on Sunday night, broadcasted live from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Competing against 50 other beautiful women, Kára stood out and took over the crown from 2016’s winner Deshauna Barber, who was also Miss D.C., Cosmopolitan reports.
The other two final contestants were Miss Minnesota Meredith Gould who ended up as second runner-up and fan favorite Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg who was the runner-up for the title.
According to Cosmopolitan, Kára is a nuclear scientist and works at the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. She is also the founder of a community outreach program designed to promote greater appreciation of science in young children. She also has “a penchant for cooking specialty Italian food.”
Julianne Hough of Dancing With the Stars and Terrence J hosted the event that featured performances from the 51 contestants, Pitbull, country singer Brett Eldredge, and Cirque du Soleil’s Michael Jackson ONE. Ashley Graham served as the backstage host. While the judges include Halima Aden, Carson Kressley, Brooke Lee, Nancy Lublin, Jeannie Mai and Janet Mock.
