NORFOLK, Va. — Students at a Norfolk elementary school got a special surprise when Miss America came by for a visit!
Camille Schrier stopped by Oceanair Elementary on Thursday. She's a biochemistry major at Virginia Tech and spoke to little girls about all kinds of STEM topics, telling them they shouldn't be afraid to embrace STEM education.
"The message that I hope to impart is authenticity," Schrier said. "Whether that girl in the audience loves science or loves something else, to know that you can do something completely different and take a risk and know that doing what is important to you is the basis of success."
You may remember, Schrier's science skills were what helped her earn the Miss America title when she did an experiment for the talent portion of the competition.
"We lack a lot of female role models in science for those young girls, and I didn't really have that when I was their age," she said. "So I think it's a really great opportunity for me to inspire them and show them that science is cool and fun and you can be a girl with a crown on and also do science, and that's really the message I hope to impart on them."
Schrier will spend a lot of the next year touring different schools, encouraging girls to get into science. She is the fourth Miss Virginia to win the Miss America title.