Ashlyn Mercier has spent her career wearing a badge.
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Mercier → spend → badge
Now, she’s hoping to wear one of the country’s most coveted tiaras.
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she → hop → tiaras
The Westborough, Massachusetts, police officer is competing in Miss America.
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officer → compete → America
The final competition takes place today at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.
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competition → take → Beach
Mercier is also the first police officer to be named Miss Massachusetts.
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Mercier → name → ?
“I think there’s not one single look for what a female police officer is supposed to look like,” Mercier told Fox News Digital.
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Mercier → think → Digital
“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.
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we → say → States
“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,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → try → dreams
“They don’t have to pick one thing and make that their entire identity.”
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that → have → thing
Mercier hopes to raise awareness of her cause, Nick’s Courage: One Smile Goes a Mile, named after her younger brother, Nicholas, a two-time pediatric cancer survivor.
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Smile → hop → brother
The initiative aims to bring positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses.
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initiative → aim → illnesses
In 2025, she took a year off from pageant competition to follow in her father’s footsteps and attend the police academy.
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she → take → academy
“I didn’t know if I would ever come back and compete,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → know → ?
“I was afraid of what other people would think if I chased both of those dreams at the same time.
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I → think → time
I also had this dream of becoming a police officer.
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I → have → dream
But what I came to realize is that I can’t worry about what other people think.
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people → come → what
I’ve got to focus on myself.
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I → get → myself
And it ended up working out for me.”
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it → end → me
Mercier said the Westborough Police Department has been cheering her on as she balances the competition with her work as an officer.
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she → say → officer
Fox News Digital reached out to the department for comment.
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Digital → reach → comment
“I’m really fortunate that they have been so incredibly supportive,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → ’m → ?
“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.
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I → work → America
They’ve shown up to my sendoff parties.
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They → show → parties
They’ve helped me with my fundraising efforts.
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They → help → efforts
They’ve sent me good luck texts.
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They → send → texts
“It’s really just an honor to be surrounded by people who uplift me,” she said.
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she → ’ → me
“It really continues to help motivate me to move forward.”
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It → continue → me
Mercier said her career in law enforcement doesn’t give her an advantage on the Miss America stage.
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career → say → stage
She’s one of the delegates representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, each hoping to stand out.
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each → ’ → Columbia
Still, other officers have taken notice.
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officers → take → notice
“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.
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Mercier → have → me
“There are also young girls saying that they want to get into law enforcement, and they’re inspired by my story.
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they → be → story
And then 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.
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I → serve → Massachusetts
“Those two things are what is so important about the Miss America opportunity,” Mercier said.
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Mercier → say → opportunity
“Yes, we get to dress up.
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we → get → ?
Yes, we get to wear pretty gowns and look beautiful.
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we → get → gowns
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.”
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you → look → Mercier
Police work has also given Mercier skills she can use in the competition.
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she → give → competition
She said she’s comfortable communicating with different people and staying calm in nerve-wracking situations.
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she → say → situations
But one challenge remains.
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challenge → remain → ?
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
