An active-duty military member was crowned the winner of the Miss America pageant for the first time ever on Sunday when Miss Colorado Madison Marsh took home the title to make her state and service branch proud.
The 22-year-old U.S. Air Force Academy graduate dazzled judges not only with her classic looks but also with her traditional femininity, intelligence, character and strength.
Marsh told pageant organizers a simple truth after she was announced as Miss America: “You can achieve anything. The sky is not the limit and the only person that’s stopping you is you.”
Marsh is certainly no stranger to flying high.
A look at her Instagram page shows she is a young woman of incredible depth, fortitude and leadership:
But just who is the young second lieutenant and Harvard student who made history on Sunday in Florida?
A Teen Pilot with Big Dreams
Marsh is originally from Fort Smith, Arkansas. According to a profile on her from the Air Force, she always had big dreams and aspirations, and she took to the skies before she was old enough to drive.
“From a young age, [Marsh] had a love of science and a dream to be a pilot and astronaut. Her parents encouraged her dreams, sending her to Space Camp when she was 13 years old where she met astronauts and fighter pilots,” the profile says.
“Around that time, she learned about the United States Air Force Academy. At 15 years old, she started flying lessons earning her pilot’s license two years later and then began to work towards her goal of becoming a cadet.”
Marsh explained that she did not consider entering pageants until she entered the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
“As a freshman at the Academy, you might have a hard time finding your identity in a very new and challenging environment,” she said.
“My cousin had competed in pageants for a long time, and one of the big things about it that I love is the community service aspect and the focus on public speaking.”
Marsh Is Dedicated to Public Service Above All Else
After Marsh was crowned Miss America, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of her native state of Arkansas shared a picture he took with her in 2021 in Washington.
“Congratulations to Fort Smith native and Air Force 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh on being crowned Miss America,” Cotton wrote on X.
“Madison visited Capitol Hill in 2021 to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer, a cause for which she started her own non-profit organization in her mother’s memory.”
While Marsh might have represented Colorado in the pageant, Cotton reminded his social media followers where she was from: “Madison, all of Arkansas is proud!”
Congratulations to Fort Smith native and Air Force 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh on being crowned Miss America. Madison visited Capitol Hill in 2021 to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer, a cause for which she started her own non-profit organization in her mother’s memory.… pic.twitter.com/zzvQNJxIPd
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) January 15, 2024
The cause of battling pancreatic cancer is close to Marsh, as she lost her mother Whitney to the disease in 2018.
Marsh organizes an annual fundraiser in her hometown in honor of her mother.
Whitney’s Race is “a race against time for those yet to be afflicted with pancreatic cancer, the most deadly cancer,” according to the event’s website.
“My mom was a huge runner, even when she was going through chemotherapy treatments,” Marsh said in the Air Force profile. “When we talked about ways to raise money, we wanted it to remember who my mom was and not what cancer had made her.”
The fundraiser has raised more than $250,000 for cancer research and hospitals in western Arkansas since 2019.
The Sky Might Not Be the Limit for Miss America
Marsh just made history on the ground, but she has goals that reach beyond the stratosphere.
Before Marsh was crowned Miss America, she explained to Stars and Stripes that she once had hopes of becoming an astronaut.
But even if her career never takes her to outer space, she said she is perfectly content using a public policy degree she is currently earning at Harvard to advocate for cancer research.
No matter what path Marsh chooses — and for her there are many — she personifies the American dream for so many girls and women.
This year, Miss America crowned a real-life role model who is proof that women can achieve the grandest of goals if they set their minds to them.
