
Nicole Jia, moments after being crowned Miss America Outstanding Teen. (Photo by Evelyn Hou)
Nicole Jia from Oklahoma was crowned Miss America’s Outstanding Teen 2017 on Aug. 6. Jia’s parents emigrated from Beijing in the 1980s.
Along with the title, Jia, 17, won a $30,000 scholarship provided by the Harris Rosen Foundation and the Orlando Scholarship Foundation. She will also act as the official National Teen Goodwill Ambassador for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.

Vivian Dao (Photo by Evelyn Hou)
Miss Washington’s Outstanding Teen 2016, Vivian Dao, was also a contestant. Dao, of Vietnamese descent.
She will be skipping two years of high school to be a freshman at the University of Washington this fall.