Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan was in Washington D.C. this week spreading the message of the Miss America Organization's advocacy for higher education for all women. 
Following a meeting with the Nebraska delegation on Capitol Hill, Teresa had a substantive discussion with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, did an interview with The Hill newspaper, and then met with Rep. John Kline (R-MN), Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) who is the ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
She rounded out the Congressional visits by attending the Congressional Correspondents Dinner, which honors journalists who cover Capitol Hill, where she was the guest of The Hill newspaper. Seated with Senators John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), she received a round of applause after a shout out from the podium.
Café Milano's Franco Nuschese hosted the third annual Welcome to Washington lunch with special guests DC Cupcakes' Sophie LaMontagne and her sister Katherine Kallinis, as well as media who gathered to 
meet Miss America. MAO Board of Directors 
members, Tammy Haddad, Kelley McCormick and Regina Hopper reminded the crowd of the 12,000 women who competed this year and the over $45 million in scholarships that the program awards every year.
Yesterday, Teresa was invited to speak with Jenny Yeager Kaplan, Deputy Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls. She spoke about
the historical significance of the Miss America Organization as the largest provider of college scholarships and Miss America's advocacy to encourage all young women to pursue college education, specifically those interested in science, technology, engineering and math.
On Tuesday, Miss America took her message directly to the children in a visit with students from Washington's Martin Luther King Elementary School where she motivated them for their upcoming DC CAS test. She spoke with young children (ranging from Head Start/pre-k, K, 1st and 2nd grades) to talk about science, nutrition, healthy eating, and the school garden.
As Teresa concluded her events on Capitol Hill, she emphasized that the Miss America Organization is eager to work with Congress and the Obama Administration to help promote education initiatives nationally. Teresa believes that being Miss America means being a role model to young women across America, and advancing affordable and high-quality education for young women is a priority for her.
We salute Miss America for her monumental visit to DC and thank our distinguished MAO Board Members, Regina Hopper, Tammy Haddad and Kelley McCormick for helping to arrange this impressive visit to Washington, DC.