Former Miss Michigan Taylor Hale has made history as the first Black woman to win the hit CBS competition show, Big Brother.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Hale was crowned the champion of Big Brother‘s 24th season on Sept. 25. That evening, she became the first Black woman to win the show’s non-celebrity edition since it first aired 22 years ago in 2000. Her 8-1 triumph proved to be a very unexpected one as she reportedly faced many obstacles on the CBS show, including alleged racism and bullying. However, she ended up defeating fellow finalists Matthew Turner and Monte Taylor, earning her a $750,000 cash prize and an additional $50,000 for being named America’s Favorite Houseguest.

“I am not a victim. I am a victor,” the 2021 Miss Michigan said to the nine-member jury prior to being announced as the winner. “And if there is one word that is going to describe the season, it is resiliency. And if you were to ask yourself who was the most resilient person of the season, it was me.”

Hale was reportedly treated unfairly since she began her journey on Big Brother as she was shunned by fellow female cast members and belittled by some of the males. She was also a candidate for eviction seemingly every week but eventually joined an alliance called the “Leftovers” and found her way. The 27-year-old beauty queen opened up to Entertainment Weekly about her epic victory and making history.

“It is the exact goal that I had coming into this entire game,” she told the outlet. “It is mind-boggling that I even pulled it off considering where I was on the first week and second week. And we can go on week-to-week [about] how many times I sat on the eviction night block. But I watched a lot of seasons in preparation coming into this game, and the last season that I watched coming in was season 3. And I saw Danielle and the win that she should have had get taken away from her. And that just gave me the extra fuel that I needed to never let go of why in this game.”