Jennifer Corey, Miss DC 2009

The Miss District of Columbia pageant took place Sunday night at the Lincoln Theatre, and 22-year-old American University student Jennifer Corey took home the crown. Corey (you can follow her on Twitter, if you like) will go on to represent the District in the Miss America pageant in January, where to the best of our knowledge, no Miss DC has ever taken the top prize. Corey won on the strength of her recycling awareness platform, “Let’s Talk Trash!”, and her talent, opera singing — she’s currently an intern with Washington National Opera. The Miss America pageant system likes to make a big deal about how it’s all about the scholarship program, so here’s what they’d like you to know: Corey’s crown comes with a $5,000 scholarship. The first runner-up was 22-year-old George Washington University School of Medicine student Stephanie Williams. UPDATE: We stand corrected! Margaret Gorman, Miss America 1921, and Venus Ramey, Miss America 1944, both represented D.C. in the pageant.