Cooley represented North Carolina in the Miss USA 2005 pageant broadcast live from Baltimore, Maryland on April 21, 2005. For her final question, Cooley drew the question of former Miss USA Shandi Finnessey. She was asked: "What famous person does your personality most parallel?" Her answer was: "I guess it would be Oprah. She has a passion for life. She loves what she does, and she works so hard to try to achieve everything in her life... I try to emulate myself after that."
Cooley competed as Miss USA in the Miss Universe pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand on May 31, 2005. The eventual winner of that pageant was Natalie Glebova of Canada.