The women who wear the crowns of the two premiere U.S. beauty pageants are now both active-duty service members after Army 2nd Lt. Alma Cooper, a West Point graduate and intelligence officer, was crowned Miss USA on Sunday. Cooper’s title comes eight months into the reign of Air Force 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh as Miss America. Both graduated from their respective service academies in 2023.
“Lt. Cooper’s accomplishments are truly inspiring and a testament to her discipline and work ethic,” said Army Col. Terence M. Kelley, director of communications for the U.S. Military Academy. “Her selection as Miss USA is a great example to young people about the importance of character and the opportunities of military service.”
An honor graduate from West Point, Cooper used her personal statement in the pageant to highlight her journey to the Army.
“As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro Latina woman and an officer of the United States Army, I am living the American dream,” she told the pageant’s judges on Sunday. “If there’s anything that my life and my mother have taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny: You can make success accessible through demanding excellence.”
She takes the crown after Miss USA 2023 and Miss Teen USA abruptly resigned earlier this year.
Originally from Okemos, Michigan, Cooper graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in mathematical science, and she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in statistics at Stanford University in California, according to her university biography.
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In a Stanford video, Cooper said that her father joined the Army and then completed Officer Candidate School, becoming an armor officer. Her Instagram account includes a picture of her father leading her oath of office at West Point
“His whole world was centered around tanks and leadership and soldiers,” Cooper said.
Cooper recalled how her mother signed her up for a two-week summer camp at West Point as she was preparing to apply for colleges.
“I called my parents, and they were like, ‘What do you think?’” Cooper said in the video. “And I go: I love it. I knew from that moment that I was going to go to West Point.”
Then-cadet Alma Cooper in February, 2023 when she learned she would be assigned to the 101st Airborne Division after graduation. Elizabeth Woodruff/USMA PAO, posted to Cooper’s Instagram account.
As a cadet, Cooper served as the brigade adjutant at West Point, for which she led and implemented accountability systems for 4,400 cadets in emergencies. She also traveled the country with West Point’s Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), during which she led STEM modules and discussions about ethical leadership with middle school and high school students.
Her undergraduate thesis focused on how body mass index – a measurement of body fat based on a person’s height and weight – is connected to the Army’s recent recruiting challenges.
“To be a woman of color in that situation was challenging,” Cooper recalled in the video. “It was incredibly rewarding to find moments to elevate the voices of other minority high-potential cadets.”
Cooper first learned about beauty pageants from her mother, who competed in the Miss America contest. At 14, Cooper competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant. In April, she was named Miss Michigan.
“The greatest things in life lie on the other side of fear,” Cooper said in the Stanford video. “When you demand excellence of yourself: When you look for opportunities to be out front, to learn and grow and to better yourself – even in the face of fear – there are so many beautiful things that lie behind that door.”
UPDATE: 08/05/2024; this story was updated with a statement from Army Col. Terence M. Kelley, director of communications for the U.S. Military Academy.
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