The next Miss America has officially been crowned!
On Thursday night (December 15), Miss Wisconsin Grace Stanke was named Miss America 2023 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The 20-year-old pageant winner - who is a senior studying nuclear engineering at the University of Wisconsin - wowed the panel of judges with her answers during the red carpet segment and final round of the competition.
Stanke is also a classical violinist and won a $2,500 talent scholarship earlier after delivering a sensational performance during the talent part of the competition, per Insider.
Stanke was also awarded a $100,000 scholarship and will venture on a year-long tour to raise awareness about nuclear power and zero-carbon energy sources, according to Vogue.
Ten of the top 11 finalists were selected by the judges while one was selected by voters in America. After five women advanced to the final round, they were asked questions about issues that they are passionate about.
During the segment, the university student said she is "excited" to have the chance to spotlight nuclear energy as Miss America and represent "the women who can".
"As Miss America, I am representing this organization. If they ask further questions, I am able to preface by saying: 'This isn't the organization's point of view, this is my personal point of view as Grace Stanke' and I can go on to state it - especially when it comes to things like nuclear energy and so many other hot political topics," she explained, per People.
According to Wisconsin Public Radio, Stanke is the first nuclear engineer to compete in Miss America. She told the outlet before that she was inspired by her father and wanted to follow in his footsteps as an engineer.
Stanke recently established "Clean energy, Cleaner future" - which is a social impact enterprise that she hopes will teach people more about the advantages of nuclear energy.
"We're at a point in time where our society is focusing more on zero carbon, but we're also at a point in time where we're quite literally running out of fossil fuels as a planet," she told WPR.
In 2017, the nuclear engineering student won the title of Miss Wisconsin's Outstanding Teen, and in June this year, she was crowned Miss Wisconsin.
The career has allowed her to attend speaking engagements at events not only in her state but abroad too. In September, she was a speaker at the Women in Nuclear Canada conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
"The one thing about being in both of these industries is sometimes you get put in this box," Stanke said. "Sometimes you get put in this one thing that people see you as Miss Wisconsin or as a nuclear engineer, and they think that's all you are.
"But the thing about it is we're the women who can. We're the women who can step up and really achieve anything they put their mind to," she added.
Congratulations to the new Miss America!
