Miss USA Kara McCullough is a Scientist !!

Beauty Pageants ! – some hold the view that they are held to promote socalld  beauty products and promote their merchandise in thirdworld countries – fairness creams now sell well in remote villages too – is one view .. .. .. another often criticized one is the Q & A of the top contestants.

The contestants had 30 seconds to answer. The countries from Colombia, France, Thailand, and Haiti requested interpreters.  Question for Miss Philippines, Maxine Medina: What is the most significant change you've seen in the world in the last 10 years?  A:   The last 10 years of being here in the world is that I saw all the people being in one event like this in Miss Universe, and it's something big to us that we are one, as one nation, we are all together.  .. ..    what is your take ? – this post is not simple one on a beauty winner !!

Miss USA 2017,  the 66^th Miss USA pageant, was held yesterday at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Deshauna Barber of the District of Columbia crowned her successor Kára McCullough of the District of Columbia at the end of the event. McCullough will represent the United States at the Miss Universe 2017 competition.   For the uninformed like us, the  Miss USA is an American beauty pageant held annually since 1952 to select the American entrant in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operates both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA.

The pageant was owned by the current President of the United States of America, Donald Trump from 1996 to 2015, and was previously broadcast on NBC. In September 2015, WME/IMG purchased the pageant from Trump. Currently, Fox holds the broadcast rights for the pageant.  Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant; then there are Miss World and Miss Earth.  Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta have been the crowned Indians – as Miss Universe. The pageant was founded in 1952 by the California-based clothing company Pacific Knitting Mills.  Miss Universe Organization licenses local organizations that wish to select the Miss Universe contestant for their country, and approves the selection method for national delegates. The current Miss Universe logo – "the woman with stars" – was created in 1998.

The current Miss Universe is Iris Mittenaere of France who was crowned on January 30, 2017 in Manila, Philippines.  Who would replace her could be hotly debated, even as McCullough has the chance now to have a fling at the crown – and she spotted the rather usual response as she was crowned - Miss District of Columbia USA Kara McCullough  is the new Miss USA 2017.

For the second year in a row, Miss D.C. won the Miss USA crown. That winner, 25-year-old Kara McCullough, quickly stood out to both the judges and viewers, when her responses from the question-and-answer portion of the pageant on Sunday quickly sparked a social media debate on the topics of health care and feminism.

Well, in fact, she attracted criticism.  Asked during Sunday's pageant in Las Vegas whether healthcare was a privilege or a right, Miss McCullough said: "I'm definitely going to say it's a privilege." She added: "As a government employee, I'm granted healthcare and I see firsthand that for one to have healthcare, you need to have jobs. "We need to continue to cultivate this environment that we're given the opportunity to have healthcare as well as jobs to all American citizens worldwide."Her remarks divided liberal-minded and conservative-minded viewers. Some were quick to criticise her stance.

But resist the temptation to join the bandwagon to say ‘ beauty often has no brains’ - Kara McCullough, is  a scientist working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. 

McCullough, who represented the District of Columbia in the decades-old pageant, was born in Naples, Italy, and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia. She said she wants to inspire children to pursue careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. "I love science," McCullough said after the Sunday event. "I look at this as a great opportunity to ... get to experience worldwide culture, as well as just having the opportunity to be impacted by so many children, hopefully in the math and sciences."  McCullough bested 50 other contestants and will represent the U.S. at the Miss Universe contest.

McCullough said she will be discussing with her supervisor whether she will take a leave of absence from her job at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during her one-year reign.  She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry, with a concentration in Radiochemistry from South Carolina State University in 2013. Proven chemistry of brain with beauty !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

15^th May 2017.