By JAY PATAO
Nicknamed So, Barber is a 26-year-old Army Reserve Officer with the rank of First Lieutenant. Her dad is a retired army master sergeant. Born in Columbus, Georgia, she has lived all over the USA. She has resided in North Carolina, Nebraska, Minnesota and Virginia before finally landing in D.C.
So has been in the military since 2011 when she was commissioned as a quartermaster officer following her graduation from Virginia State University with a degree in Business Management. She is now a logistics commander for the 988th Quartermaster Detachment Unit at Fort Meade, Maryland.
The new Miss USA’s goal is to help soldiers battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). "It's so important, I know that when veterans and soldiers return from being deployed, sometimes they have those hidden scars that aren't necessarily physical," Barber said in an interview with Fox 5 D.C. "And I think it's important to make sure that they have the resources they need to get through PTSD, to get through those mental battles."
Barber is only the third Miss USA winner from the District of Columbia, and the first-ever military service member to take home the coveted crown. "I am ready to break the stereotype for female soldiers and bust through the pageantry glass ceiling that has been laid over the heads of this industry," she wrote on Instagram before the competition. "Time to show that we as women are versatile, strong and can be anything we set our minds to!"
Barber will compete at the 65th Miss Universe Pageant along with Miss Universe Philippines 2016 Maxine Perez Medina and 90 other national beauty queens later this year, where Wurtzbach will crown her successor
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