Savvy Shields

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Savvy Shields had only been Miss America for less than an hour, but she already had a clear vision of what she hopes America will look like at the end of her term next year.

“I hope that at the end of my year, we’re starting to reward politicians for compromise,” she said.

Shields, who represented Arkansas in the pageant, won the crown Sunday night in Atlantic City. She was asked during her onstage interview what she thought of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton; she answered that while both Clinton and Republican Donald Trump have done a good job thus far, “they also need to watch what they’re doing.”

Meeting reporters after the pageant, she elaborated. “What I want both candidates to focus on is compromise,” she said. “Our country was founded on compromise. We’re in a state now where both parties just seem to be yelling at one another.”

She was asked one of several political questions by the panel of celebrity judges.

“If you’re trying to be leader of the free world, everything you say and do matters and all of your actions are held to a higher standard,” Shields said.

Shields performed a jazz dance to a song from the TV show “Smash,” for which she won a preliminary competition earlier in the week. She said she still has the soundtrack from the canceled TV show.

Shields is an art major at the University of Arkansas who wants to help people make better food choices. Her secret dream is to be a backup dancer for Beyoncé.

The pageant included contestants from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

The pageant began in Atlantic City in 1921 as a way to extend the summer tourist season beyond Labor Day weekend.