New York, 5 August 2024 (TDI): Michigan’s Alma Cooper, a US Army officer, was named Miss USA on Sunday, becoming the third person to hold the title this year following the shock resignation of 2023’s winner.
The 22-year-old, who has Master’s degree in data science from Stanford University, beat fifty other contestants in a pageant that included evening gown and swimwear competitions. Kentucky’s Connor Perry and Danika Christopherson from Oklahoma claimed first and second positions, respectively.
Alma Cooper told judges during a Q&A session at Sunday’s finale that as the daughter of a migrant worker, a proud Afro Latina woman and an officer of the US Army, she is living the American dream.
The beauty queen said that if there’s anything that her life and her mother have taught her, it’s that the circumstances never define one’s destiny. Success can be made accessible through demanding excellence.
Cooper was crowned on stage by previous titleholder, Savannah Gankiewicz of Hawaii, who inherited the tiara in May this year after Utah’s Noelia Voigt resigned in highly controversial circumstances.
The glitzy televised event capped three months of turbulence for event organizers sparked by Voigt’s surprise resignation — and that of then-reigning Miss Teen USA, New Jersey’s UmaSofia Srivastava, just days later. The show featured no explicit references to the controversy, though Gankiewicz described her unexpected 3-month stint as Miss USA as “the most unique reign in history.”
Announcing her decision via social media platform Instagram in May, Voigt attributed her resignation to mental health issues. But social media users spotted that the first letter of the first eleven sentences of her post spelled “I am silenced,” sparking rumors of a strict non-disclosure deal.
Her resignation letter alleged delays in receiving prizes and a toxic work environment poorly managed and full of harassment and bullying. She also claimed to have been sexually harassed during a public appearance due the Miss USA organization’s failure to provide an “effective handler.”
