By Jane Nambi
Mallory Hytes Hagan was a simple girl before Saturday 12th January 2013 when she was crowned Miss America.
As a child, her dream was to compete and win the title of Miss America and today, her dream came true.
Hagan, 23, was crowned Miss New York but managed to beat 52 other contestants to the crown and became Miss America. She was seconded by
Miss South Carolina Ali Rogers who was first runner-up, and Miss Oklahoma Alicia Clifton, who finished third. The 23-year-old beauty queen is a resident of New York who owns an apartment at Windsor Terrace. She enjoys walks in Prospect Park, hates guns and supports the Yankees. She lives on the second-floor of a red-brick three-story apartment building on 17th St. Part of her allure is her simplicity with life; people relate to her and young girls know that they can be like her.
“She’s as sweet as can be, she’s a humble gal,” said Stan Hagan, 64. “When she hits that stage she’s a ball of fire. It’s wonderful.” Asked why she decided to move to NY, she said, “I needed to figure out who I was, and what I wanted to do with my life.” Opelika, Ala. has a population of 27,000.
But, Hagan was not a New Yorker before. The beauty queen moved to New York in 2008 from Opelika, Ala. “I moved to NY in October 2008 with less than a grand in my pocket, a BIG suitcase &…a lot of hope,” said Hagan. At the time, she was attending Auburn University.
At the moment, she is student at Fashion Institute of Technology and plans to graduate with a degree in Advertising and Marketing. She intends to enter the field of cosmetic and fragrance marketing but her ultimate career ambition is to become a global marketing director for a cosmetics company.
Hagan was previously crowned Miss Brooklyn in 2010.
As Miss New York, Hagan focused her efforts on Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention and she will now become an advocate for the Children’s Miracle Network, the organization’s official charity.