Miss Maryland for America 2021
Aziza Howard
As a veteran herself, she relates to the emotional and physical struggles of today’s military, including preparing for and transitioning to a post-military life. She participates with every capacity possible to help those who served our country and to assist them with avenues to transition back into civilian life, especially wounded or disabled veterans who often require more assistance to cope with that transition. Along the way in her advocacy for veterans, she learned the power and far-reaching effects of social media. She threw herself into the community and tapped every resource available in that arena to grow and focus attention on veterans’ causes. In doing so, She has been able to reach out to veterans individually to provide one-on-one guidance, as well as reach out to sponsors and businesses to encourage them to recognize and support veterans’ causes.
Additionally, she is a physical fitness model and influencer. Though many would classify these activities as a hobbies, to her it is more of a second job as it requires so much attention, planning, and daily effort. She uses her physical fitness platform to further advocate for veterans, where she always have her proud veteran’s status on display and as an integral part of her stage performances. This year, she competed in her first official competition, placing fifth in the National Physique Committee (NPC) Maryland State East Coast Classic Championship. She also entered and garnered a quarter-finalist place in the “Ms. Health & Fitness” Magazine competition, representing the top 1% of all entrants. This summer, she was crowned “Miss Annapolis Maryland for America 2021.”
Placing so highly in these competitions allowed her to further her support and advocate on behalf of veterans, while simultaneously raising money for the Wounded Warriors Project. In further support of Wounded Warriors, She expended by becoming a brand ambassador for fitness clothing company UnderArmour (UA), where she can highlight to other disabled veterans that despite any disability they may endured, they can still achieve great accomplishment previously perceived impossible.