Recently, a Miss USA crowned United States Army Officer Alma Cooper as the third winner of the year.  The 22-year-old Michigan native boasts an impressive resume, holding a Master’s degree in data science from Stanford University.  In her winning answer, Cooper told her inspirational story of where she has come to “demand excellence.”

“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,” Cooper highlighted her background speaking to the panel of judges during the Q&A session 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, my personal model,” she added.

While touching on her education at the prestigious Stanford University and West Point, she illustrated how she believes “success is accessible” and that barriers can be broken down.  “As a data scientist at Stanford University, and a multicultural scholarship program Knight Hennessy, if there’s anything. It’s taught me is that success is accessible, and through chasing your dreams, you can break down barriers and break a launch pad for where you’re going to go,” she said.

In a lengthy Instagram post in late July, Cooper further commented on her impressive education.  “THANK YOU @stanford !!🥹🙌🏼❤️ “KNIGHT HENNESSY SCHOLAR, ARMY OFFICER, AND DATA SCIENTIST TO THE MISS USA STAGE!” – @stanford @knighthennessy 🇺🇸🪖❤️ Beyond blessed to have an article and incredible video with @stanford highlighting my journey as a @westpoint_usma graduate to Knight Hennessy scholar, and now to the MISS USA stage!” she wrote.

Emphasizing her refusal to accept anything short of excellence, Cooper outlined her goals for America.  “Serving this country as a Military Intelligence officer, I’m honored to share my personal motto DEMAND EXCELLENCE and how l’ve dedicated myself to sharing this message along with advocating for nutrition and health in America! America, I’m ready for you!”

Cooper recently gave an interview to People in which she elaborated on her goal of spreading information about health and nutrition. According to the Miss USA winner, her mother was previously impacted by food security, which motivated her to combat the issue. The 2023 West Point graduate has dedicated her master’s degree in statistics to researching food insecurity.

“I know she is not alone in that in this country, one in five children is food insecure. And I want to make a difference,” she told the outlet, illustrating the scale of food insecurity that plagues children nationwide. “That’s what truly has propelled me to work in the field of food insecurity, health, and nutrition,” she added, noting her ambition.

Watch Cooper’s Miss USA Winning answer:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=684621280533088

Cooper offered advice to young girls “to be multi-passionate, to be a math nerd, to be a nerd in the classroom, and then serve your country as an army officer to earn a scholarship.”  She continued, “If you can see me, you can be me.”  She added, “My story and my message is that I’m here to serve. And I know that regardless of any circumstances, regardless of tumultuous times, I’m eager to serve and willing to lead as Miss USA 2024.”

Note:  The featured image credit is a screenshot from the embedded video.