Summary
Grace Marie Stanke (born April 30, 2002) is an American pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss America 2023 on December 15, 2022.[1] A native of Wausau, Wisconsin, she is the third Miss Wisconsin to win the national title.[2] She is a nuclear engineer and national advocate for nuclear power.[3]
Grace Stanke | |
|---|---|
 Stanke in 2023 | |
| Born | Grace Marie Stanke April 30, 2002 Wausau, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
| Known for | Miss America 2023 |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Title | Miss Wausau's Outstanding Teen 2016 Miss Harbor Cities' Outstanding Teen 2017 Miss Wisconsin's Outstanding Teen 2017 Miss Wisconsin 2022 Miss America 2023 |
| Term | December 15, 2022 – January 14, 2024 |
| Predecessor | Emma Broyles |
| Successor | Madison Marsh |
Early life and education edit
Stanke is a graduate of Wausau West High School.[4] Her father is a civil engineer.[5] She began competing as a local titleholder in the Miss America's Outstanding Teen pageant circuit to improve her violin skills.[6] Stanke was crowned Miss Wausau's Outstanding Teen in 2016, Miss Harbor Cities' Outstanding Teen in 2017, and finally Miss Wisconsin's Outstanding Teen 2017.[7]
Stanke started competing in the Miss America system again after she turned 18 to earn scholarship money.[6] She competed at Miss Wisconsin 2021 as Miss Madison, where she was a semi-finalist.[4][7] Stanke was crowned Miss Wisconsin 2022 on June 18, 2022 while representing Badgerland, becoming the first woman to hold both state Miss and Teen titles.[8] In addition to the title, Stanke won Preliminary Talent and $12,500 in scholarships.[9][10] She studied nuclear engineering at University of Wisconsin–Madison.[11]
Miss America 2023 edit
On December 15, 2022, Stanke won the title of Miss America 2023 and a $50,000 scholarship.[12][13] During the competition, Stanke received a preliminary talent award and a $2,500 scholarship for her classical violin performance of "Summer: III. Presto" from the Four Seasons by Vivaldi.[14] She spent her year as Miss America raising awareness about nuclear power and zero-carbon energy sources.[15] During her reign, Stanke visited nuclear power plants across the United States[16] including the Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Georgia,[17] the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in western Arizona,[18] and Hanford Site in Washington,[19][20] and Energy Northwest in Washington.[3] She also spoke about the benefits of nuclear power at the Dairyland Power Cooperative 2023 annual meeting in La Crosse, Wisconsin[21] and at the American Nuclear Society's 2023 annual conference in Indianapolis, Indiana.[22] Stanke served as the Grand Marshal of the 36th Annual Arizona Public Service Electric Light Parade.[23]
During a 'Miss America World Tour', Stanke traveled to Canada,[24] Fukushima, and COP28 in Dubai.[25]
In July 2023, Stanke interviewed with CNN about the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon and her experience with both pageants and nuclear science.[26][27] In September 2023, Stanke lent some of her sashes, gowns, and crowns to the Marathon County Historical Society in her hometown for an exhibit there called 'A Woman Who Can'.[28] During her reign, the Wall Street Journal declared Stanke "the new face of nuclear energy."[29] Stanke was named to the 2024 Forbes 30 under 30 for Energy list.[30]
For her last appearance as Miss America (before the 2024 competition), Stanke spoke to sixth grade girls at elementary schools in Idaho Falls about STEM and nuclear engineering in a partnership with the Idaho National Laboratory.[31]
Stanke traveled over 270,000 miles during her year as Miss America.[31][32]
Nuclear Engineering edit
Stanke completed her bachelor's degree in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2024.[33] She is currently a Nuclear Engineer for Constellation Energy.[33][32] Stanke continues to advocate for nuclear power and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education across the United States.[34][35][36]
References edit
- ^ NJ.com, Amy Kuperinsky | NJ Advance Media for (2022-12-16). "Miss America 2023: Live updates from the pay-per-stream". nj. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke crowned as Miss America 2023". The Economic Times. 2022-12-16. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ a b Producer, Michael LeCompte, Digital Content (2023-08-03). "Miss America visits Tri-Cities, touts nuclear energy and STEM". NBC Right Now. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Who is Grace Stanke, the 2023 Miss America Winner?". www.jsonline.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "A conversation with Grace Stanke, Miss America 2023". www.ans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
- ^ a b "A conversation with Grace Stanke, Miss America 2023". www.ans.org. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
- ^ a b Rock, Audrey (2022-12-16). "Grace Stanke: 5 Things About Miss America's 2023 Winner From Wisconsin". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ "Miss Badgerland Grace Stanke Crowned Miss Wisconsin 2022". www.thenorthwestern.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ Guernsey, Melody. "Grace Stanke crowned Miss Wisconsin 2022". WKOW. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ Rock, Audrey (2022-12-16). "Grace Stanke: 5 Things About Miss America's 2023 Winner From Wisconsin". Hollywood Life. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ "Nuclear engineering student crowned Miss America 2023". news.wisc.edu.
- ^ "Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke Crowned as Miss America 2023". www.nypost.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
- ^ "Meet the 20-year-old who was just named Miss America". KCRA. 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ Miss Wisconsin wins talent portion of Miss America competition with violin performance, 2022-12-15, retrieved 2022-12-16
- ^ "Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke crowned as Miss America 2023". 2022-12-16. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
- ^ "Can nuclear energy save the Earth? Miss America Grace Stanke is an advocate". Wausau Daily Herald. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ^ "Miss America Grace Stanke Visits Georgia's Plant Vogtle Nuclear Site". Yahoo Finance. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ^ "Miss America Grace Stanke visited Arizona. Touring a nuclear power plant was on her to-do list". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Rylee (2023-05-25). "Miss America, nuclear engineering grad Grace Stanke tours Hanford Site". YakTriNews.com. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ^ "Miss America Brings Nuclear Energy Message to Women Engineers at Hanford". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
- ^ Williams, Brad (2023-06-08). "Miss America talks nuclear power at annual meeting for Dairyland in La Crosse". WIZM 92.3FM 1410AM. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ^ Proctor, Darrell (2023-06-08). "The POWER Interview: Miss America Talks Importance of Nuclear Power". POWER Magazine. Retrieved 2023-06-13.
- ^ "Phoenix, APS name grand marshal of Electric Light Parade - Daily Independent". The Daily Independent at YourValley.net. 2023-10-14. Retrieved 2023-10-17.
- ^ "Miss America 2023: A look at Grace Stanke's year of service". Wausau Daily Herald. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ Menser, Paul (2024-01-08). "Miss America visits to talk STEM, nuclear engineering, self-confidence". Idaho National Laboratory. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ "Miss America 2023, Grace Stanke is a real-life 'Barbenheimer', here's why". Hindustan Times. 2023-07-22. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
- ^ Miss America on her unique insight into "Barbenheimer" mania | CNN, 2023-07-21, retrieved 2023-09-08
- ^ Sepeda, Kassandra (2023-09-06). "Miss America exhibit "Graces" Marathon County Historical Society". WSAW-TV. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
- ^ Hiller, Jennifer (2023-09-23). "The New Face of Nuclear Energy Is Miss America". WSJ. Retrieved 2023-09-27.
- ^ "Grace Stanke". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ a b Menser, Paul (2024-01-08). "Miss America visits to talk STEM, nuclear engineering, self-confidence". Idaho National Laboratory. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ a b "CARD 2024: Conference for Advanced Reactor Deployment". event.asme.org. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ a b "Grace Stanke". Foro Nuclear. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ Media, Griffin. "2023 Miss America, Nuclear Engineer, Speaks To Girls At Tulsa's Discovery Lab". www.newson6.com. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ Sink, Casey (2024-02-21). "Grace Stanke, nuclear engineer and Miss America 2023, to give SciFest keynote". News and Events. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
- ^ "CARD 2024: Conference for Advanced Reactor Deployment". event.asme.org. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
External links edit
- Miss America official website