New York What Makes This Miss USA So Special

When you think of Miss USA, a soldier isn't what comes to mind first but that all changed this week with the announcement that 2nd Lt. Alma Cooper was crowned with the title.

West Point proudly announced this week that a 2023 graduate had done something that no other West Point Graduate had done to date. Yes, tons of West Point graduates have gone on to all kinds of success but this is the first time a graduate has been crowned Miss USA.

West Point Graduate Crowned Miss USA

2nd Lt. Alma Cooper graduated in 2023 and has now become the first active duty solider to be crowned Miss USA and she will also be the first to compete for the title of Miss Universe.

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In a Facebook post congratulating 2nd Lt. Cooper West Point goes on to say that receiving this title speaks to both her dedication to character in and out of the uniform. First becoming Miss Michigan 2024 Cooper she shares her story with the West Point Association of Graduates on their podcast. Listen to it here.

2nd Lt. Cooper is the daughter of a migrant worker who stated that she is "living the American dream". A Knight Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University she also shared “If there’s anything that my life and my mother have taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny.”

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