Teresa Scanlan is crowned 2011 Miss America

A 17-year-old aspiring politician from Nebraska captured the Miss America crown after beating 52 other young women from across the United States.

Teresa Scanlan won a $50,000 scholarship and a year-long run with the crown at the competition at the Planet Hollywood casino-resort in Las Vegas, giving the Cornhusker State its first-ever win at the pageant.

Pageant officials said she was the youngest Miss America since the pageant’s first competition in 1921.

“At this point, attorneys and politicians are looked down on and have terrible reputations for being greedy and power hungry,” the teen said, “and I really think it’s important for people who have their heart and mind in the right place get into those powerful positions,” Teresa Scanlan.