Typically on the boardwalk of Atlantic City there is a lot of glamour and beauty during the Miss America pageant, but what gets overlooked is the contestants and the brains behind their beauty. In a world where women are constantly objectified for their image, it is important at the apex of that philosophy to see woman being praised for intelligence.

The 53 contestants come from all over the country and U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The Miss America Foundation is the world’s largest provider of assistance to young women totaling more than 45 million dollar in scholarships each year. The STEM scholarship is for science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Numerous corporations and activist groups such as MomsEveryday are STEM scholarship sponsors.

“It’s a game changer it really is. Miss America is about empowering young women through education and that’s what we want to do and help that out with MomEveryday. I think it changes their entire future,” says Jason Effinger, Founder of MomsEveryday.

Miss Georgia, Maggie Bridges, says she’s been involved with a lot of different aspects of STEM. “I’m really fortunate to be a woman pursuing a STEM field. I’m really excited about my interview which will be tomorrow,” says Bridges.

This year alone there are ten contestants up for STEM scholarships, with five potential winners of the scholarship. For more information about the Miss America Pageant you can follow the MomsEveryday facebook page and twitter handle. Be sure to follow this year’s Miss America pageant also.