Brooklyn’s Own, Mallory Hagan, Wins Miss America 2013 Pageant: From Small Town to Big City

Brooklyn resident Mallory Hagan moved to New York five years ago with only a $1,000 in her pocket.

Now, Hagan is the rightful holder of the Miss America crown and recipient of a $50,000 scholarship after her big win in Las Vegas Saturday night.

Hagan tap danced to a James Brown song, commented on gun violence in schools and brought up concern about the issue of child sex abuse in the pageant realm before winning her first national title.

The 23-year-old may not be a native New Yorker but she says that she found herself in New York after moving there as soon as she was 18 years old-leaving her small town in Alabama behind.

"I just knew that the energy of NYC was something that I really loved," she told the AP. "I was always a little more liberal-thinking than my hometown. And I just knew that I needed to get out for a little bit."

But Hagan recounts some of the rough patches she went through in Brooklyn.

"The struggle was vast," she said. "There were days when I had five bucks in my pocket and I would push that $5 between subway fare and meal money."

It took Hagan ten years of competing in the pageant circuit before winning Miss New York last year, her first state level title.

And as the Brooklyn beauty dons her new crown, Hagan said that she will take initiative to create mandatory educational programs that aim to prevent child abuse across the nation.

Hagan beat out second place Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers and third place Miss Alabama Alicia Clifton.