Ivy Harrington holds an impressive list of titles: Division I athlete, Miss New Jersey USA 2025, and first runner-up at Miss USA. But she resists being defined by any single one. A proud graduate of Morgan State University, Harrington sees her accomplishments as chapters in a much larger story—each reflecting a skill she has relied on time and again: the ability to pivot. Her path to winning Miss New Jersey USA 2025 and capturing the national spotlight was anything but conventional. It was not carefully scripted, nor did it follow the expected trajectory of a college athlete. Instead, it grew out of a mindset Harrington says she had been practicing long before she ever stepped onto a pageant stage. That mindset took root early. Harrington recalls that her parents encouraged her to think broadly, to avoid narrowing herself to a single identity. “My dad taught me to figure out what my gifts were, figure out what my interests are, and if I can fuse and merge those two things together, then I’ll never work a day in my life and I will always love what I do,” she said. Basketball became one of the first ways she put that philosophy into action. The sport brought Harrington to Morgan State on scholarship, where she arrived determined to graduate debt free while laying the foundation for a future in media. The Morgan State graduate’s journey from Division I athletics to the national pageant stage reflects a life and career built on intention, adaptability, and purpose.
It was during her years at Morgan State that Harrington first began to consider pageantry. Sitting in her dorm room, she watched the Miss USA telecast and saw two Black women, Deshauna Barber and Kara McCullough, win the crown in consecutive years. The moment planted a seed. When the opportunity arose to compete for Miss Senior on campus, it stood out as an unconventional move for a Division I athlete whose life was already defined by practices, games, and travel. Harrington, however, saw possibility rather than departure. After graduating, she pursued pageantry beyond campus. Still, her focus remained firmly on media. A broadcast journalism major, Harrington said pageantry felt less like a crown to chase and more like a room to enter— one that could open doors into the industry she envisioned for herself. She first competed in the Miss New Jersey USA competition in 2020. Her semifinalist finish sparked a belief that she could truly win. Over the next several years, she would compete four times before finally claiming the state title, becoming the oldest woman to ever do so. This fall, she advanced to the national stage and placed first runner-up at Miss USA.
her long after graduation.
“It engulfed everything that I was aspiring to be, and it gave me the confidence to know that I would always be supported, that I would always have a community of people rooting for me,” she said. Now, Harrington is focused on completing her reign as Miss New Jersey while assessing her next pivot. After six years and four attempts to win the crown, and following her national success, she says her expectations have been exceeded. “My cup really is running over,” she said. Looking ahead, Harrington remains open to possibility, guided by perspective earned through experience. True to her athletic roots, she frames transition in competitive terms. “It’s coming up with a game plan, knowing what you have to do to show up and execute every day. Soon enough, you reap the reward and you see the results pay off,” she said.
Whatever lies ahead, she remains focused on the process.
“Winning comes in many forms, and to win doesn’t always mean that you walk away with the trophy,” she said. More significantly, Harrington hopes her story challenges the idea that ambition must follow a fixed timeline, particularly for women. She believes people have the power to reinvent themselves at any stage of life, often pointing to creatives like Ava DuVernay and Vera Wang, who pursued new paths later than expected. “We have so much permission to pivot into whatever we’re gifted in and fascinated with. I think that is one of the best ways to get the most out
“All you need is a glimmer of what you can do,” Harrington said.
Much of that confidence, she adds, was forged during her time at Morgan State. She credits the HBCU environment with strengthening her sense of belonging and purpose. “I was at an institution that was made for my people, by my people,” she said. That sense of community, along with the competitive grit she developed as an HBCU student-athlete, has stayed with
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