Teresa Scanlan, Ex Miss America Covers Up At Christian College

Teresa Scanlan, better known to most as Miss America 2011, is now a sophomore at Patrick Henry College in Washington DC. The ex-beauty queen, now aged 19, was the youngest woman to win Miss America back in 2011 when she was just 17.

The twist in the so far normal story of a girl going to college to further her education, is that Patrick Henry College is ultra- conservative, requiring a strict, prim and proper dress code from its students, and even permission from their parents to date!

Scanlan spoke to reporters about the relative anonymity she has enjoyed so far at her new college saying: “I’ve never had to sign an autograph, and I’ve never had to take a picture. Here, I can be just another student.”

The college was founded in 2000, with the specific goal of offering home schooled Christians a strong foundation in politics, law and things like journalism.

One of the main differences for Teresa is the dress code she is forced to wear to attend classes. Quite a contrast to her bikini clad Miss America days, when she represented her home state, Nebraska.

She spoke more about her devout Christian views and about some of the struggles she is presented with:

“There’s this idea that we don’t struggle with the same problems, that we don’t understand real world problems… that everyone comes from wonderful, happy families, that we’re close-minded and brainwashed. That kind of pushes my buttons.”

Teresa received a lot of stick from people in her circles who criticized her for taking part in the Miss America competition and flaunting herself, half naked on stage in a bikini. She maintains that she never once compromised her morals, or her beliefs as a Christian.

(Photo courtesy of: The Great American Wheat Harvest. Image via: Great American Wheat Harvest Video.)