Miss America hopeful swaps combat boots for evening gown, says military service gives her purpose

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know has a suicidal idea, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by calling 988.

Alexia Rodrigues is trading champions on her combat boots.

The beauty pageant competed in Miss Rhode Island in Orlando on Sunday. She enlisted in the Rhode Island Army National Guard during the 19th pandemic. She has completed three years of full-time active service.

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The 25-year-old told Fox News Digital that she was eager to raise awareness of women in the armed forces. She said that over the years, the service has achieved its goal.

“I absolutely love my job.” Warwick locals share. “I feel excited every day to be able to wear my uniform and serve my country, my community…that’s what I work every day. The work the military does, not what many companies do, is to make sure our soldiers start “equal opportunities” and keen training from day one on EO, which is “sexual harassment/crime response and prevention program”.”

“We have a very supportive team that goes through every step and makes sure every unit is taken care of and follows these policies,” she shared. “I’m here to show young girls that you can create that space yourself even if you don’t have the space you want. There is no limit. Be the first and open that door for the next woman.”

Miss America, a brilliant gameborn from the Atlantic City pageant in 1921, just one year after women were granted the right to vote, Associated Press Report. Many participants say the organization – a large number of providers of scholarship aid to young women, has been changing lives and opening doors for them personally and professionally.

The organization, a The most famous brand in the United Statesawarding over $5 million in cash scholarships each year, plus millions of dollars at the national, state and local levels.

“I think there’s a lot of what Miss America offers that is in line with my beliefs and I immediately want to be a part of it,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve been playing in this organization since I was 16, so I’ve been in 9 years. So far, it’s been a lot of trial and resilience.”

Watch: Miss Rhode Island champion foster care reform in Miss America competition

One of the reasons Rodrigues aims to highlight is support for foster youth. It crashed near the home.

Rodrigues enters foster care Witnessing her biological mother’s addiction to fighting and suffered neglect. She was not adopted until she was seven years old.

“My foster parents are the only parents I know – I hate calling them that because to me, they’ve always been mom and dad,” she explained. “They started the process when they were young, about three to four years old. It’s been a long journey. I believe that’s where I get resilience. From the two of them.”

Rodrigues has developed a community service plan, Foster Hope, Adopt Dreams, aimed at educating the public on the “foster care reality.”

“What are we [forget to realize] It is our foster care system with one million children, over 22,000 of whom age every year and never know a loving family or support system, Unable to access higher education,” she said.

“This will result in a quarter of them ending up being incarcerated, homeless or unemployed. My goal is to educate these statistics. Although they may be very sober, they portray the realities of foster care.”

“We don’t have much policy covering foster care and what these kids are entitled to,” she noted.

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“I just met Senator Reed and I wanted to make suggestions. [They would] Make Rhode Island a pilot state for the Foster Youth Rights Act and the Foster Hope Act. Both will focus on serving children aged from the foster care system. They will make sure that the foster children know their rights…and that they know who to go if their rights are violated. ”

Rodrigues said that serving in the Rhode Island Dathern Guard gave her confidence to share her story and the ability to help others in similar situations.

“I was in Syracuse,” she recalled. “I studied political science the following year. When Covid hitslike everyone else, my life is upside down. My normality became abnormal. I sat at home and wrote these articles about the changes I wanted to see, the changes I wanted to create and be part of when I felt very disconnected from the community at the time, which was a core part of myself. ”

“I came into contact with Allie Curtis, captain of the Rhode Island National Guard, with Allie Curtis – Miss Rhode Island 2015, Allie Curtis,” Rodriguez said. “I asked her, ‘Do you feel like you are making an impact? Why do you continue to serve?’ She told me why she invited me to spend a weekend with them…I immediately fell in love with a group of people, their passion for service and their ability to be something bigger than myself.”

The tragedy also aggravated her sense of purpose. At the age of 13, Rodrigues lost his sister Tiffany and suffered from an undiagnosed heart disease. Then, in 2024, her brother Keith committed suicide and died.

“I think grief leaves you with a pain that never completely disappears,” Rodriguez said. “I created the resilience journey, into the community, into units in the army, into classrooms, and talked about resilience, the meaning of the word, what it looks like. I told stories of my loss, grief, experience of foster care, vulnerability because every moment of this trip wasn’t what I thought I would be fine.”

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Today, Rodrigues hopes her journey will inspire others to make a difference in the community.

“There are a lot more moments than I want to admit [what happened to me] She admitted.

“I’m really struggling with mental health…I’m lucky I have a support system and I don’t meet even if I smile and say I’m. It was because of them that I was able to be bad at that moment, so I needed to cry, collapse, and get the world into my interest. After that, they helped me pick up the pieces and put myself back together. ”

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“Because of them, I’m here,” she said. “It’s because they’re the woman I am today. That’s why it’s always been my goal as a leader…to deliver the message and become the support system I have too many kids don’t.”

The Miss America Contest will be Sunday, September 7. The Associated Press contributed to the report.