Former Bay Area Resident Kira Kazantsev Crowned Miss America 2015
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS SF/AP) – Miss New York Kira Kazantsev won the Miss America pageant Sunday night. Her victory marked the third year in a row that a contestant from her state has walked away with the crown in the nationally televised pageant.
The 23-year-old Kazantsev received her crown at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall from outgoing Miss America/Miss New York, Nina Davuluri. Miss America 2012 was Mallory Hagan.
According to the Huffington Post, Kazantsev is originally from California and is a graduate of Las Lomas High School in Walnut Creek. Five years ago, she moved to the East Coast to attend Hofstra University in Long Island where she majored in geography, political science and global studies. She seeks a career in international diplomacy.
Kazantsev, who named combating sexual assault in the military as the issue about which she would want female U.S. Senators to press their male counterparts, won a $50,000 scholarship with which she plans to attend Fordham Law School.
She also plans to speak out against domestic violence during her yearlong resign as Miss America.
Kazantsev will begin a schedule that will see her travel 20,000 miles a month.
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