25 year old scientist Kara McCullough wins Miss USA 2017 (photos)

On Sunday, Kara McCullough, a 25-year-old chemist working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was crowned at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center as the 2017 Miss USA winner.

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

Kara will go on to compete at the Miss Universe contest later in the year..