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Harvard student, Air Force officer becomes first active duty service member to be crowned Miss America
Madison Marsh is pursuing her masters in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.
A Harvard University graduate student made history on Sunday when she became the first active duty member of the military to be crowned Miss America.
Madison Marsh, who is pursuing her masters in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School with her National Truman Scholarship, competed in the national pageant after winning the title of Miss Colorado in 2023. She graduated from the United States Air Force Academy last year, majoring in physics, and is currently serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force and interning with Harvard Medical School, according to her pageant biography.
Marsh told The Harvard Crimson there are similarities between serving in the military and participating in pageantry.
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“When I put on my uniform, I serve and I represent our country,” she said. “When I put on the crown and sash, I’m serving, representing my community.”
Marsh started a nonprofit, the Whitney Marsh Foundation, which is named in memory of her mother who died from pancreatic cancer in 2018.
She told the Crimson her experience at the Air Force Academy, with its focus on leadership, was instrumental in her path to Harvard and being crowned Miss Colorado.
She said she plans to apply her passion for cancer research and policy reform at Harvard.
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“I’m trying to take that background of my cancer research and applying that to the policy degree — trying to translate it to make sure that we’re enacting policy that’s equitable for all patients,” Marsh told the newspaper.
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