Miss USA crowned the third winner of the year Sunday, and the title went to U.S. Army Officer Alma Cooper from Michigan.
The 22-year-old title holder has a Master’s degree in data science from Stanford University, according to CNN. Cooper rose above 50 other contestants in a pageant that included a swimwear and evening gown competition.
“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 judges during the Q&A session Sunday.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 04: Alma Cooper, Miss Michigan USA walks onstage during the 73rd annual Miss USA Pageant at Peacock Theater on August 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Cooper shared some words of gratitude and inspiration as she accepted her new position at the top of the Miss USA ranks.
“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 said.
Connor Perry from Kentucky was named first runner up, and Oklahoma’s Danika Christopherson the second.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 04: Alma Cooper, Miss Michigan USA walks onstage during the 73rd annual Miss USA Pageant at Peacock Theater on August 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Previous titleholder, Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, crowned the beauty queen on stage. Gankiewicz inherited her tiara and took the title of Miss USA in May. She replaced the 2023 winner from Utah, Noelia Voigt, who stunned fans with a shock resignation.
More shockwaves were felt shortly after Voigt’s abrupt departure, when Miss Teen USA, New Jersey’s UmaSofia Srivastava, also resigned from her position just a few days later.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 04: Alma Cooper, Miss Michigan USA, is crowned Miss USA 2024 onstage during the 73rd annual Miss USA Pageant at Peacock Theater on August 04, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
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Voigt claimed mental health reasons led her to step down, but eagle-eyed fans noticed a cryptic post on social media, in which the beauty queen’s first letters in her initial 11 sentences spelled, “I am silenced.” Rumors quickly spread suggesting a strict non-disclosure agreement was to blame.
Voigt’s resignation letter made reference to a “toxic work environment” that “at best, is poor management and, at worst, is bullying and harassment,” according to CNN. (RELATED: Trans Woman Makes History As The Newly-Crowned Miss Maryland USA)
Cooper will go on to represent the United States in the 2024 Miss Universe Pageant, which will take place in November.
