Alma Cooper is a reigning pageant queen, yes — but she’s also a West Point grad who graduated at the top of her class, a U.S. army intelligence officer, a data scientist getting a masters at Stanford, the daughter of a migrant worker and the holder of many “firsts” for the Miss USA pageant.
In August, 22-year-old Cooper became both the first active duty service member and the first Afro-Latina contestant to win Miss USA.
Speaking to TODAY.com a month after her win, Cooper says “overnight it feels like my life changed.”
Her victory came at an inflection point for the pageant, which has been held since 1952. Earlier this year, former Miss USA 2023 Noelia Voigt, former Miss USA Teen 2023 UmaSofia Srivastava and former Miss Colorado USA 2023 Arianna Lemus each relinquished their national titles within days of one another, sparking controversy and confusion.
When crowning Cooper, former Miss USA 2023 Savannah Gankiewicz, who took over the crown after Voigt resigned, referenced the tumultuous year. “I think I can say I’ve had the most unique reign in history,” she said on stage.
Despite turmoil within the organization, Cooper says her commitment to being of service compelled her to continue in this year’s competition.
“I think what propelled me to want to compete is to be of service, and any way that I can do that, that’s what I felt compelled to do,” Cooper says. “I’ve been really grateful to receive support and encouragement from Noelia and Uma. That’s really meant a lot to me.”
Cooper grew up in a small Michigan town outside East Lansing called Okemos. In high school, she was a three-sport athlete, competing in volleyball, basketball and track. Following in the footsteps of her mother, who was a division 1 All-American collegiate track star, Cooper says she found sports to be an opportunity for personal growth.
Her mom, Oralia Cooper, who competed in Miss America organization, also introduced her to beauty pageants and the fight of getting to the stage.
“My mom and I both come from humble beginnings. She wanted to compete in her state preliminary pageant for Miss America, but she couldn’t afford it,” she says. A self-taught dancer, a local dance clinic paid her pageant fees in exchange for teaching dances at the studio.
“That is how she paved the way and made her dream accessible — by leaving no stone unturned and never allowing her circumstances to define her destiny,” she says.
She was equally inspired by her dad, Stacey Cooper, who was an officer for the U.S. Army for 24 years. After attending a summer camp at West Point going into her senior year of college, she called home to say she saw her future materialize: “I fell in love with the challenge.”
“I really loved how I could see myself coming out as a better woman, leader and professional in my career in the service,” she says.
She went on to graduate from West Point in 2023 and is currently a second lieutenant military intelligence officer.
Cooper felt the same charge from pageants. Watching competitions as a girl, Cooper would see “some of the most talented, educated and inspirational women across the country,” and was compelled to join their ranks.
Cooper first competed in the Michigan Teen USA competition when she was 14, and finished first runner-up. She competed again in 2018 and 2019 as a semifinalist. For Cooper, the first competition, and the close calls after, “got the ball rolling in my dream to compete at Miss USA one day.”
Not only did she compete nationally for Miss USA: She won.
Now, she says she feels the pressure and honor of being so many “firsts” for the organization.
When asked how people can “bridge the gap between different cultures” and “foster understanding and respect” during the competition, Cooper spoke to her ethnicity and upbringing.
“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. If there’s anything my life and my mother taught me, it’s that your circumstances never define your destiny,” she said.
The crown-holder says that her mother, who was born in Arizona, is of Mexican descent, as Cooper’s great-grandfather immigrated from Mexico. Cooper’s mother worked as a migrant worker in the beet fields of Idaho starting when she was 6.
Hispanic Heritage Month “means a lot” in Cooper’s household, she says, because her great-grandfather’s decision to move from Mexico to the U.S. has “impacted the course of (her) life.”
“As I’ve grown to understand more of my family history, that’s allowed me to have a greater understanding for, you know, the sacrifices that were made for me to live the life that I love. That has strengthened my relationship with my Hispanic heritage and my mom’s side of the family, especially,” she says.
Cooper says she doesn’t take the weight of her win lightly. “It feels really meaningful to represent something that’s bigger than myself,” she says. “I think that being a biracial woman, I hope to show others that if you can see me, you can be me.”
“For people who may be the only (competitor) or may not see a lot of people who look like them or come from places like them in spaces where they want to be, I hope that in being Miss USA that inspires others to really chase their dreams in totality, and to know that I see them, that they are seen, and that their voices are welcomed, and that not only do they deserve to be here, but they belong here.”
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