Recently, IAVA had the opportunity to attend the Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore featuring Miss USA 2016. IAVA Member Maran Shaker, wrote about the experience:

It was quite an honor for our group of veterans to meet Miss USA, since Ms. Deshauna Barber is the first ever military member to gain the title of Miss USA.

Upon meeting her after the show, I introduced myself and the group as the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. She welcomed us with a smile as she took the time to shake everyone’s hand and greet them. A passer by who was walking her dogs also stopped and said hello. Ms. Barber was very humble and welcoming to her fans and took pictures with them. After posing for a group picture with the IAVA group, and while her team stood waiting for her departure, her humbleness endured as she continued greeting people one by one and taking individual pictures and selfies with them.

While taking a picture with her personally, her military traits were apparent in her discipline and professionalism. This opportunity to interact with Miss USA was most significant because it reflects on the level of success that military and veteran personnel can achieve inside and outside the military, even winning such a distinguished title as Miss USA.

I hope that her accomplishments will inspire other veterans to pursue their goals through their military careers and afterwards.