ORLANDO, Fla. (KNWA/KFTA) — It’s been nearly a year since Fort Smith native Madison March was crowned Miss America 2024 in Orlando.
Marsh, a second lieutenant in the Air Force and 2019 Fort Smith Southside High School graduate became the first active duty service member to win, according to the United States Air Force. She won as Miss Colorado despite being from Arkansas.
At festivities in Orlando on Saturday, the 23-year-old reflected on her time as Miss America.
“I’ve loved getting to hear the stories of the young women that have come up to me saying that they’ve decided to join the military or the Air Force Academy because they saw you don’t have to sacrifice who you are as a woman in order to put the uniform on,” Marsh said on Saturday.
Marsh graduated from the Air Force in 2023 with a degree in physics and is pursuing a Master’s in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, according to Fort Smith Public Schools.
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Miss America 2024, U.S. Air Force 2nd Lt. Madison Marsh, of Fort Smith Ark., stands on the field while waiting to participate in first pitch ceremonies before a baseball game between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, Friday, July 26, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) -
Miss America 2024, Madison Marsh, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, poses next to the Harley J. Earl Trophy during a news conference after the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race was rained out Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Madison was scheduled to be the honorary pace car driver. (AP Photo/Terry Renna) -
Miss America 2024, Madison Marsh, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, speaks during a news conference after the NASCAR Daytona 500 auto race was rained out Sunday, Feb. 18, 2024, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Madison was scheduled to be the honorary pace car driver. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
After winning Miss Colorado in 2023, Marsh spoke to students at Woods Elementary in Fort Smith, telling them to “Shoot for the Stars!”
Fort Smith native crowned Miss America 2024
While reminiscing about her time as Miss America, Marsh wrote an opinion piece for USA Today, detailing the impact it had on her life.
“When I became the first active-duty member of the military to win Miss America, I thought it was just a flashy headline. Sure, it sounded exclusive, but I didn’t view it as groundbreaking. I was not the first woman to join the military or graduate from the U.S. Air Force Academy. I was simply doing what I loved. I thought it would be ‘fun’,” Marsh wrote.
In addition to being in the Air Force, Marsh created “Whitney’s Race” and the Whitney Marsh Foundation in 2018 after her mother died from pancreatic cancer.
FSPS said that Marsh is a certified pilot and was sixteen when she made her first solo flight.
Marsh was the fourth Arkansan to win the award and the first from Arkansas to win for another state.
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