United States Army Second Lieutenant Maria Carter was born in Nashville, Tennessee and grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. In 2023, Maria graduated from Abington Senior High School in 2023 and attended Valley Forge Military College in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
After completing her two years at Valley Force Military College, Maria transferred to Syracuse University in 2025 and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in applied data science in the School of Information Studies and is on track to graduate in the spring of 2027. She successfully balances her academic and military responsibilities, earning Dean’s List honors, playing for the Syracuse University Women’s Rugby Team, and serving as a signal officer in the New York Army National Guard’s 427th Brigade Battalion in Syracuse, New York.
Her proudest military moment has been commissioning as a Second Lieutenant at Valley Forge Military College, which was a goal she worked exceptionally hard to achieve and marked the beginning of her military career as an Army officer.
