Here she is: One on one with the new Miss America from New York
NEW YORK (WABC) -- The new Miss America is back home in New York after getting the crown last weekend.
Kira Kazantsev is talking about her win, what she plans to accomplish with her title, and even took a pop quiz about her knowledge of the Tri-state.
"As soon as that crown got put on my head I thought wow, I just did it," Kira said.
For the third time in a row, she made New York proud.
"My mother is actually currently moving me out of my apartment breaking my lease, because as Miss America, I'll be traveling 20,000 miles a month and be in a different city every 48 hours," she said.
A lot has changed for Kira Kazantsev, including learning the secret of using strips of elastic to keep the crown secured.
"I like to use these little things because it stabilizes and really clamps to my head and then the bobby pins keep it balanced," she said.
The 23-year old former Hofstra student majored in political science, global studies and geography, and just checked another thing on her to-do list.
Inspired by the movie Pitch Perfect, she performed Pharrell Williams' "Happy" in the pageant while tapping a red cup on the floor.
The cup's name is 'Wilson', in honor of the ball Tom Hanks buddies up to in the movie Castaway.
"I wanted to show little girls that you can take a red plastic cup and sit on the Miss America stage and do well and that's OK, stay true to you, you don't have to fit in the box, you can color outside the lines," said Kazantsev.
Kira will soon head to Notre Dame for law school, so it made perfect sense to play, 'How well do you know New York?'.
("How many boroughs are there in New York City?" we asked.) "Five", she correctly answered.
("The name of the little girl who lives on the tippy top floor of the Plaza Hotel?") She knew that one too: "Eloise."
("The Yankees play at Yankee Stadium, the Mets play at:") "Citi Field."
("Which page of the newspaper is Page Six on?") "Page Six", not falling for the trick question.
("Should we go ahead and hand next year's title to Miss New York?") "No, the best woman for the job is the best woman for the job, it doesn't matter where she's from," she said.
And finally: "Can you retweet me?" "Absolutely," she replied.
Watch more of Kemberly's interview with Miss America:
