Laryssa Bonacquisti, Miss Louisiana 2017

The new Miss Louisiana, Laryssa Bonacquisti, talks with 101.7 / 710 KEEL's Robert J Wright and Erin McCarty about the joy of winning the crown, the sacrifices her parents made and her slightly unusual talent, ventriloquism.

Bonacquisti, the reigning Miss Shreveport, says she hopes you use her title to draw attention to another cause, the battle against pancreatic cancer. She dedicates these efforts to her grandmother, who died from the disease earlier this year.

Laryssa will next be competing in the Miss America pageant, which is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey in early September.