The new Miss USA is a 25-year-old scientist from D.C.

For the second year in a row, District of Columbia won the Miss USA pageant title.

Kara McCullough, a 25-year-old scientist working for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, won the top prize Sunday night at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center on the Las Vegas Strip.

Miss New Jersey Chhavi Verg, became the runner-up and the third-place finisher was Miss Minnesota, Meridith Gould.

Kara will now go on to compete on the Miss Universe contest.

"I'm extremely thankful for this opportunity," she said after the event.

"I just want to encourage so many women nationwide to find their passion in any subject possible and understand that nothing is difficult if you really, truly put the work in for it."

 Kara was born in Italy and raised in Virginia Beach. Dubbed by producers as “one of the most intelligent contestants in recent memory," Kara studied nuclear chemistry at South Carolina State University.

She was born in Naples, Italy. Her father, Artensel E. McCullough Sr, was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps, and her mother is Betty Ann Parker. 

She was raised in various places such as Sicily, Japan, South Korea, and Hawaii. 

Kara has been inducted into the Golden Key International Honor Society, the National Society of African-American Engineers.