Ashlyn Mercier has spent her profession sporting a badge. Now, she’s hoping to put on one of many nation’s most coveted tiaras.
The Westborough, Massachusetts, police officer is competing in Miss America. The ultimate competitors takes place right this moment on the Palm Seashore County Conference Heart in West Palm Seashore, Florida. Mercier can also be the primary police officer to be named Miss Massachusetts.
“I believe there’s not one single search for what a feminine police officer is meant to seem like,” Mercier informed Fox Information Digital.
“And if we are saying that there’s, that’s simply incorrect as a result of, on the finish of the day, sure, feminine regulation enforcement officers solely make up roughly 14% of the drive in the USA, however we don’t should look a sure means.
“Individuals are so multifaceted, girls are so multifaceted and I’m simply making an attempt to indicate younger ladies that they will chase all of their goals concurrently,” Mercier stated. “They don’t have to choose one factor and make that their whole identification.”
The glitzy competitors dates to a 1921 magnificence contest in Atlantic Metropolis, New Jersey, held a 12 months after the nineteenth Modification assured girls the proper to vote. The group awards scholarships and provides its titleholder a nationwide platform for group service and advocacy.
Mercier hopes to boost consciousness of her trigger, Nick’s Braveness: One Smile Goes a Mile, named after her youthful brother, Nicholas, a two-time pediatric most cancers survivor. The initiative goals to carry positivity and hope to youngsters battling vital sicknesses.
In 2025, she took a 12 months off from pageant competitors to comply with in her father’s footsteps and attend the police academy.
“I didn’t know if I might ever come again and compete,” Mercier stated. “I used to be afraid of what different individuals would suppose if I chased each of these goals on the identical time. I additionally had this dream of turning into a police officer. However what I got here to comprehend is that I can’t fear about what different individuals suppose. I’ve bought to give attention to myself. And it ended up figuring out for me.”
Mercier stated the Westborough Police Division has been cheering her on as she balances the competitors together with her work as an officer. Fox Information Digital reached out to the division for remark.
“I’m actually lucky that they’ve been so extremely supportive,” Mercier stated. “I work for an incredible division, and my co-workers have supported me 100% from the second I informed them I used to be competing as Miss Massachusetts to now being at Miss America. They’ve proven as much as my sendoff events. They’ve helped me with my fundraising efforts. They’ve despatched me good luck texts.
“It’s actually simply an honor to be surrounded by individuals who uplift me,” she stated. “It actually continues to assist inspire me to maneuver ahead.”
Mercier stated her profession in regulation enforcement doesn’t give her a bonus on the Miss America stage. She’s one of many delegates representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, every hoping to face out.
Nonetheless, different officers have taken discover.
“I’ve had 1000’s of feminine regulation enforcement officers throughout the nation commenting on my posts saying that they’re rooting for me and that they’re impressed by me,” Mercier stated.
“There are additionally younger ladies saying that they need to get into regulation enforcement, and so they’re impressed by my story. After which I serve my group in Westborough each single day in my capability as a police officer, however I additionally get to serve my group within the position as Miss Massachusetts.
“These two issues are what’s so vital concerning the Miss America alternative,” Mercier stated. “Sure, we get to decorate up. Sure, we get to put on fairly robes and look lovely. However girls’s empowerment and repair are the core. And in case you have a look at it like that, you’ll be able to see and draw lots of parallels between Miss America and between my position as Officer Mercier.”
Police work has additionally given Mercier expertise she will be able to use in the competitors. She stated she’s comfy speaking with totally different individuals and staying calm in nerve-wracking conditions. However one problem stays.
When requested whether or not preparing for a shift or a pageant takes longer, she didn’t miss a beat.
“Oh, completely preparing for a pageant,” she stated with fun. “I don’t seem like this every day once I go to work. I’ll have perhaps some mascara on, and the hair will get slicked again in a bun. I’ve bought that down in about two minutes flat. This undoubtedly takes rather a lot longer.”
This 12 months’s competitors commemorates 105 years of Miss America. Whether or not she earns the title or not, Mercier stated she’s decided to make use of her platform to make a distinction.
“If I do win, I simply hope to be an inspiration to younger girls and ladies trying as much as [me], realizing that she is usually a police officer, and she or he could be Miss America,” Mercier stated. “She will chase all her goals directly. I’ve been informed I ought to decide one, give attention to one. However you are able to do all of it. My message is to encourage the subsequent technology.”
