Meet Miss North Carolina 2017

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Miss Greater Sampson County, Victoria Huggins was crowned Miss North Carolina 2017 Saturday night in Raleigh.

She is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and UNC Pembroke.
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Huggins is an advocate for Alzheimer's awareness.

She will go on to compete in the Miss America Competition.

The women who competed for the crown were mostly college students or high school seniors preparing to enter college.

For their 80th year, the pageant had a huge surprise.



For the first time ever, there were 15 finalists, not 10.



The final contestants competed in several portions including swimwear.
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A talent competition.



And an interview section.



Over the last 80 years, the winners of the Miss North Carolina Pageant have done service projects to impact our community while obtaining college scholarship money.
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The pageant's scholarship fund saw nearly a 30 percent increase from 2016, raising over $70,000 this year.



But Miss North Carolina is more than just a pageant, it's an opportunity for women to win more than a title and scholarships, but a chance for them to help change the world.

READ MORE: MISS NORTH CAROLINA: 'FAR BEYOND A BEAUTY PAGEANT'

The competition was full of beautiful and talented women.



Congratulations to everyone who competed.