I relate to [women and children in women's shelters] on a personal level because I've been there myself.

I'm so excited [to be Miss USA]. It's a dream come true.

I think more awareness is very important so women can learn how to protect themselves. As a fourth-degree black-belt, I learned from a young age that you need to be confident and be able to defend yourself, and that's something that we should start to implement for a lot of women.

I relate to [women and children in women's shelters] on a personal level because I've been there myself.

I'm so proud to bring the title of Miss USA back to Nevada.