Miss America officials said Shields receives a $2,000 scholarship.
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Burgess chose the well-known crowd pleaser “Desperado” by The Eagles as her talent performance, delivering it with a slight country tilt, earning one of the loudest ovations of the evening.
The preliminaries continue Thursday night.
The Miss America Organization has been advocating for young women, promoting community service and providing scholarships since 1921.
Miss Nebraska, Aleah Peters, wowed the audience with her baton twirling skills, and Miss Connecticut, Alyssa Rae Taglia, impressed with her high kicks.
Miss America 2017 preliminary competitions will continue September 7 and 8.
The 2017 Miss America will be crowned during Sunday night’s nationally televised finale on ABC. Judges applaud after the National Anthem is sung at the second night of the Miss America Pageant Preliminaries at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, in Atlantic City.
Miss New Jersey Brenna Weick participated in the swimsuit/evening wear competitions with the Sigma Group and will perform her talent on Wednesday during the second night of preliminaries.
Supporting the military, helping children and seniors figured prominently in the onstage interviews some of the contestants gave.
30, 2016 photo shows Miss America contestants at a welcoming ceremony in Atlantic City.
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“We need to become aware of what’s happening to that person behind the screen who’s hurting every time we share that cruel content”, she said.
