By Hillary Latos
On January 12, 2013 our own Brooklyn resident and Miss New York, Mallory Hagan was crowned Miss America. Originally from Alabama, this incredibly driven 23 year old had childhood dreams of being Miss America and made the move to the Big Apple to pursue a career in the glamorous field of beauty and advertising. Resident had a chance to chat with the gorgeous and talented Hagan to see what she loves most about living as a New Yorker and to take a glimpse into her whirlwind tour as Miss America 2013.
How has living in New York prepared you for your duties as Miss America?
Everyone knows that New York has such diverse cultures and communities and there’s so many different types of people here I think that’s what’s really prepared me to be Miss America. I’ll be travelling all over the country and meet all different types of people, but I’ll also be travelling internationally as well. I’ll be in Canada and in Europe, just being a New Yorker will make it so much easier because I’ve already been exposed to it.
Who was your inspiration for running?
I grew up in Alabama and I saw Heather Whitestone be crowned, Miss America 1995 and she was the first one to have a disability, she had hearing loss in one ear and I remembered thinking if she can be crowned with a disability then I can be crowned. It was that beacon of hope as a kid and that person who was your idol in the organization. Then I saw another Miss Alabama be crowned Miss America in my teenage years so I’ve definitely had a couple of inspirational people in my life.
What are some of your favorite places in NYC?
I love, love, love the Highline, I love to spend my summers there relaxing and also I spend a lot of time in Prospect Park which is my neighborhood. Of course I love food, Burger & Barrel is one of my favorite restaurants, the chef has won NYC’s Burger bash three years in a row, its really great. I love going to the Museum of Modern Art and the Museum of Natural History. There’s so much to do you can literally do something different here everyday forever!
How did you decide on your cause to champion?
Stop It Now! Child Sexual Abuse is actually my personal platform and it’s something that has affected many of the women in my family and I felt that since I have this box to stand on I should try to create some education and awareness around it and I think that I’m proof that prevention is possible. As a child it was a priority for people to make sure that I understood that my body is my body and I have the right to say no to anything. I think if we empower kids with that message I think they will be able to resist possible abuse in the future as well. As Miss America I’m an ambassador for the Children’s Miracle Network so we work nationwide for CMN national hospitals and as an organization we’ve raised over $6 million for CMN and visit all of their hospitals. I’m also going to Washington DC to meet with Arnie Duncan for STEM to promote education with the Miss America Organization.
What is your beauty regime?
Artistry has been such a great sponsor to the Miss America Organization and awhile ago they gave us their balancing system in a travel pack. This is great for my daily routine. I also use their crème luxe eye cream it has caffeine in it so for early mornings it really helps to brighten my eyes and make me appear more awake and reduce puffiness and it can make you look up to 15 years younger. Its preventative for me, many women in my family have fine lines and wrinkles around their eyes. I love their light up lip gloss, it’s such a conversation starter as much as it is great for your face and look. It’s great to be at a party and whip it out. Artistry has great products and their new spring collection is beautiful and beautifully packaged.
What are your New Year’s resolutions?
I have to be really honest, I try not to make New Year’s resolutions because I think that resolutions are just an excuse to prolong something you should’ve done a long time ago. My resolution is to not to have a resolution.
What are your plans after your role as Miss America?
My goal is to use my $50,000 Amway scholarship to continue my education at the Fashion Institute. Ironically enough I’d like to study Advertising, Marketing and Communications with an emphasis in cosmetics and fragrance marketing. This is a great yearlong internship with Artistry and I really hope that it’s something I can build upon in the future as well.
