Ashlyn Mercier is speaking out about shattering stereotypes as she competes for the Miss America crown.
The Westborough, Massachusetts, police officer, who is also the first cop ever named Miss Massachusetts, said that women in law enforcement defy any single mold. “I think there’s not one single look for what a female police officer is supposed to look like,” she said. “And if we say that there is, that’s just wrong because, at the end of the day, yes, female law enforcement officers only make up approximately 14% of the force in the United States, but we don’t have to look a certain way.”
Mercier, who took 2025 off from pageants to attend the police academy and follow her father’s path into law enforcement, nearly abandoned her pageant dreams entirely. “I didn’t know if I would ever come back and compete,” she said. “I was afraid of what other people would think if I chased both of those dreams at the same time. I also had this dream of becoming a police officer. But what I came to realize is that I can’t worry about what other people think. I’ve got to focus on myself. And it ended up working out for me.”
Her department has rallied behind her unconventional dual pursuit. “I’m really fortunate that they have been so incredibly supportive,” Mercier said. “I work for an amazing department, and my co-workers have supported me 100% from the moment I told them I was competing as Miss Massachusetts to now being at Miss America. They’ve shown up to my sendoff parties. They’ve helped me with my fundraising efforts. They’ve sent me good luck texts.”
The support has rippled far beyond Massachusetts. “I’ve had thousands of female law enforcement officers across the country commenting on my posts saying that they’re rooting for me and that they’re inspired by me,” Mercier said. “There are also young girls saying that they want to get into law enforcement, and they’re inspired by my story.”
Mercier sees clear overlap between her badge and her sash. “I serve my community in Westborough every single day in my capacity as a police officer, but I also get to serve my community in the role as Miss Massachusetts,” she said. “Those two things are what is so important about the Miss America opportunity. Yes, we get to dress up. Yes, we get to wear pretty gowns and look beautiful. But women’s empowerment and service are the core. And if you look at it like that, you can see and draw a lot of parallels between Miss America and between my role as Officer Mercier.”
The competition, which dates to a 1921 Atlantic City beauty contest held a year after the 19th Amendment guaranteed women’s suffrage, now awards scholarships and a national platform for advocacy. Mercier is using hers to promote Nick’s Courage: One Smile Goes a Mile, an initiative named after her younger brother Nicholas, a two-time pediatric cancer survivor. The program brings positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses.
Her police training has proven surprisingly transferable to the stage. Mercier said she is comfortable communicating with different people and staying calm in nerve-wracking situations. But one challenge caught her off guard: the prep time. Asked whether getting ready for a shift or a pageant takes longer, she laughed. “Oh, absolutely getting ready for a pageant,” she said. “I do not look like this on a daily basis when I go to work. I’ll have maybe some mascara on, and the hair gets slicked back in a bun. I’ve got that down in about two minutes flat. This definitely takes a lot longer.”
Mercier rejects the notion that women must narrow their ambitions. “People are so multifaceted, women are so multifaceted and I’m just trying to show young girls that they can chase all of their dreams simultaneously,” she said. “They don’t have to pick one thing and make that their entire identity.”
The final competition is taking place at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, with delegates from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico competing during the event marking 105 years of Miss America.
“If I do win, I just hope to be an inspiration to young women and girls looking up to [me], knowing that she can be a police officer, and she can be Miss America,” Mercier said. “She can chase all her dreams at once. I’ve been told I should pick one, focus on one. But you can do it all. My message is to inspire the next generation.”
