Miss America Mallory Hagan Champions STEM Scholarships On Hill; Dines At Cafe Milano

NORTHWEST -- No stranger to the spotlight, Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan was back making headlines all day Tuesday during a whirlwind visit to the District that began on Capitol Hill and ended in Georgetown.

The first stop for the former Miss New York (she is actually an Alabama native) was nothing less than the United States Capitol where, joined by Miss America Foundation Chairman Sam Haskell, she proudly announced the pageant's new 'STEM' scholarship initiative.

The acronym stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and, in targeting such categories as a specific area of scholastic focus, the pageant hopes to further cement its leadership as the world's largest provider of assistance to young women.

Already, the Miss America organization provides more than $45 million in scholarships each year, with some 12,000 young women in towns and cities across the United States participating in the program. Such academic roots to the pageant is often lost to the press amidst all of the glitz and glamour, which is something the event's organizers are striving to change.

Speaking of said powers-that-be, the nonprofit recently welcomed well-known media maven Tammy Haddad as its new president of development. And Haddad (host of the ultra exclusive annual White House Correspondents' Garden Brunch) wasted no time in soliciting the support of her immeasurable network of friends and colleagues.

Indeed, in the audience at yesterday's Capitol building gathering was everyone from Fox News primetime TV host Greta van Susteren to Doug Heye, Deputy Chief of Staff for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. Of course, there were plenty of young, aspiring Miss Americas present too -- all eager to try on Hagan's crown, which she happily encouraged.

Later that day, with a jam-packed schedule of meetings behind them, Hagan, Haddad, Haskell, and Heye then proceeded to meet-up with a lucky handful of friends and journalists for a relaxed dinner at Georgetown's famed Cafe Milano.

Joining them in the tony restaurant's private second floor dining room overlooking Prospect Street were SKDKnickerbocker's Hilary Rosen and Kelley McCormick (McCormick also serves on Miss America's Board of Directors), as well as a dozen or so other D.C. notables.

Service and scholarship, apparently, resonate well in D.C. The crown probably doesn't hurt either.