When she was 20 years old , Williams was approached by scouts from the Miss Syracuse pageant who had seen her perform while a student at Syracuse University . Despite their encouragement , Williams was not interested in participating in the pageant . She later changed her mind when she realized that she could earn scholarship money . Although she had never participated in a beauty pageant before , she won the title of Miss Syracuse in April 1983 . She then went on to win Miss New York in July 1983 During the preliminaries for the Miss America pageant , Williams won " Preliminary Swimsuit " and " Preliminary Talent " ( with a vocal performance of " Happy Days Are Here Again " ) . She was also crowned Miss America 1984 on September 17 , 1983 , becoming the first African American woman to win the title
Miss America 1984
Miss America 1984
Vanessa Williams and Miss America