Miss America: Biochemist Camille Schrier wins crown with science experiment

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

Camille Schrier's passion isn't what would first come to mind when you think pageant contestant. But her talent to perform scientific experiments helped her become the next Miss America.

Schrier demonstrated the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide as the talent portion of the contest Thursday night. In layman's terms, she made red, green and blue foam explode from flasks, covering the stage, Fox News reported.

"Science is all around us! I've loved science since I was a little girl. It's my mission to show kids that science is fun, relevant and easy to understand," Schrier said.

The Virginia Tech grad has dual Bachelor of Science degrees in biochemistry and systems biology and is working on her doctor of pharmacy degree at Virginia Commonwealth University, according to The Washington Post.

Schrier said she only joined pageant competitions after Miss America officials got rid of the swimsuit portion of the event.

“I kind of figured that I would never get on that stage because I was a woman who did not want to get into a swimsuit on stage. And I didn’t have a performing talent, which is really ironic now,” Schrier said during the broadcast.

Not only did Schrier win the crown, she also got a $50,000 scholarship, The Washington Post reported.

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