Miss America 2018 Cara Mund Facts: Things To Know About The Winner

Miss North Dakota Cara Mund was crowned Miss America 2018 Sunday at the event in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

This is the first time in the history of the 97-year-old beauty pageant that a contestant from North Dakota even made it to the top five.

Mund, a 23-year-old Brown University graduate whose dream is to be the first female governor of North Dakota, not only won the title but also a $50,000 scholarship and a six-figure pay for her Miss America journey. Mund took over the title from last year’s winner, Miss Arkansas, Savvy Shields.

On Sunday, Mund participated in five competitions which consisted of swimwear, evening gowns, a talent show, and two question and answer sessions. Beating 50 contestants, Miss North Dakota made it to the top.

“Honestly? It was to get to Miss America and make it past the Top 10,” Mund said. “We’ve only had three girls [from North Dakota] ever make it this far. And so it just proves that it doesn’t matter where you come from geographically — if you have the ability to do it and you dream it, you can do it.”

During the preliminaries, Mund was a finalist for a community service award and on the main event's night she impressed the judges during the swimsuit and evening gown segments, as well as the talent competition, where she performed a jazz routine to Michael Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel.”

Mund, who always wanted make it to Miss America, inched closer to the dream in June when she won the Miss North Dakota title, which was her fourth and final time competing in the state-wide competition. Mund has a degree in Business Entrepreneurship and Organization. Since the age of six, Mund has been participating in beauty pageants and won titles including Little Miss, Miss Pre-Teen and Miss Junior Teen. She also won Miss North Dakota’s Outstanding Teen in 2010.

Mund has a passion for dancing; yet another passion is working with the Make a Wish organization. In August, she encouraged her followers on Instagram to "get involved with @makeawishamerica by contacting your local chapter!" In the same post, she also wrote: "Make-A-Wish children are often @cmnhospitals children! Through the #MissAmerica Organization, I make both miracles happen and wishes come true! #MissNorthDakota#wishescometrue#miracleshappen"

Miss Missouri Jennifer Davis was the first runner up and Miss New Jersey Kaitlyn Schoeffel was the second.

The third and fourth positions were taken by Miss District of Colombia Briana Kinsey and Miss Texas Margana Wood.

Some highlights of the show Sunday included Miss Missouri Jennifer Davis' Bollywood dance to a song from the movie "Jai Ho," Miss Texas Morgana Woods' contemporary dance to Adele's "When We Were Young," Miss District of Columbia Briana Kinsey's song "Born This Way" and Miss Alabama Jessica Procter's rendition of "Over the Rainbow."

Social media was blown away by Miss Louisiana — Laryssa Bonacquisti — who took the stage with two puppets and performed a ventriloquist act, complete with yodeling. Bonacquisti and her puppets sang Patsy Montana and the Prairie Ramblers’ “I Wanna Be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart.”