Deshauna Barber, a 26-year-old IT analyst and Army officer was crowned Miss USA tonight. Barber, Miss District of Columbia, beat out Miss Georgia and Miss Hawaii, who scored a runner-up title, for the big win.

Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Barber has lived in North Carolina, Nebraska, Minnesota and Virginia, before finally settling in D.C. for her father’s military career. She joined the army at the age of 17, and went on the graduate from Virginia State University.

Barber comes a military family, both her parents and her siblings have served in the U.S. Army.

“I guess I like to think of myself as being able to break the mold for pageant girls all around the world and for military soldiers all around the world,” Barber said. “I’m being able to say that no one pageant girl does the same thing or has the same background, and I’m also saying that no one soldier has the same background and does the same thing. That we can be feminine, we can be in beauty contests, we can be models. There’s stereotypes on both sides that I feel like I’m breaking even by being here and being able to compete for Miss USA.”