Alma Cooper ’23 was recently named Miss Michigan USA and will go on to compete for Miss USA this summer. 

Cooper graduated from West Point in 2023 and is currently a Knight-Hennessy Scholar completing a Master of Science degree in statistics-data science at Stanford University. She is the first active-duty Army officer to compete in the Miss Michigan USA competition.

“We are thrilled to see LT Cooper ’23 representing the Academy well as a Knight Hennessy Scholar and now with her title as Miss Michigan!” said BG Shane Reeves ’96, Dean of the Academic Board at the U.S. Military Academy. “Join me in cheering on Alma as she gets ready to compete for Miss USA!”

While at West Point, Cooper was a mathematical science major and focused her research on the Army’s recruiting crisis and the cost-benefit analysis of raising the allowed body mass index standards. 

Cooper interned with the Center for Army Analysis and is committed to elevating the voices of underrepresented minorities through diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. She has traveled across the country with West Point’s Leadership, Ethics, and Diversity in STEM program, where she has led middle and high school students through ethical leadership discussions and taught STEM modules. 

Cooper also served as the President of Elevation, a West Point club whose mission is to empower high-performing minority students as they pursue academic enrichment opportunities and key summer leadership and received the 2023 Mathematical Association of America-Metro N.Y. Janet Liou-Mark Award. 

Read more of Cooper’s story and learn her motivation for competing in Miss USA.