Meet the Newest Miss USA 2017, McCullough Kara

Introducing McCullough District of Columbia as the latest Miss America 2017. The 25-year-old chemist Kara McCullough won the miss USA 2017. She was was born in Naples, Italy, and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She said she wants to inspire children to go for careers like science, mathematics, technology,  and engineering

 She  is currently working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, She will go on to compete on the Miss Universe contest.

The first-runner-up was Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg, a student at Rutgers University studying marketing and Spanish, While Miss Minnesota Meridith Gould, who majors in apparel retail merchandising at the University of Minnesota was the second runner-up.

Fifty-one women representing each state and the nation's capital participated in the decades-old competition. Last year, District of Columbia resident Deshauna Barber became the first-ever military member to win Miss USA.

The top five finalists where asked different questions that touched on the pros and cons of social media, women's rights and issues affecting teenagers. McCullough was asked whether she thinks that affordable health care for all U.S. citizens is a right or a privilege. McCullough said it is a privilege.

"As a government employee, I'm granted health care and I see firsthand that for one to have health care, you need to have jobs."

And later in the competition the three runner up, McCullough, Verg and Gould were asked to explain what they consider feminism to be and if they consider themselves feminists. Miss District of Columbia said she likes to "transpose" the word feminism to "equalism."

Verg one of the immigrants who has been in the U.S for years now told the Press days ahead of the competition that she and her parents immigrated from India to the U.S. with just $500 and when she was 4 years and in fact during her first winter her family couldn’t afford a winter jacket. Including the ladies representing North Dakota, Hawaii, Connecticut Florida, and New Jersey confessed that they have faced challenges and opportunities as immigrants.

CMA Award-winner Brett Eldredge performed his new single "The Long Way" as the women modeled their evening gowns. They modeled their final looks of the night during a performance of Pitbull's "Options" featuring Stephen Marley.

Julianne Hough, Ashley Graham and Terrence J. hosted the show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the Las Vegas Strip.