OKEMOS, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – An Okemos native is the new Miss USA.
Alma Cooper, a 22-year-old Okemos High School and West Point graduate, is a second lieutenant and military intelligence officer in the U.S. Army. She was crowned on Sunday night at the pageant in Los Angeles.
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Cooper is the first active duty military officer to win for the Michigan. Here’s the crowing moment:
Miss Michigan Alma Cooper crowned 2024 Miss USA
Alma Cooper is the first active-duty officer to receive the award. #MissUSA #Pageant #Michiganhttps://t.co/xgcuMRL5Li pic.twitter.com/gsrsGCvxpm
— Michigan News Source (@MINewsSource) August 5, 2024
Her colleagues at West Point expressed their congratulations as well.
Congratulations to 2nd Lt. Alma Cooper, USMA Class of 2023, on being crowned @MissUSA! Cooper, the first active-duty #soldier to receive this title, attributes her dedication to character, both in and out of uniform, to her years at West Point.@WPAOG @SecArmy @USArmy @DeanUsma pic.twitter.com/HSxv19uJdg
— U.S. Military Academy at West Point (@WestPoint_USMA) August 5, 2024
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Cooper credited the “American Dream” in the question portion of the pageant. “As the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro-Latina woman, and an officer in the United States Army, I am living the American dream,” Cooper said.