Grace Vanderhei

It’s not often that you find an engineer, athlete, musician, and a former Miss America all in one. But that’s Badger alumna Grace (Stanke) Vanderhei.

A Wausau native, Vanderhei won the title of Miss Wisconsin in June 2022 and was crowned Miss America that December. While serving as Miss America 2023, Vanderhei was featured as the “New Face of Nuclear Energy” by the Wall Street Journal, and in 2024, she made the Forbes “30 under 30” list for Energy. Through her tenure as Miss America, she spoke in twenty-six states and eight nations, all while finishing her undergraduate degree in nuclear engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Vanderhei now works as a nuclear fuels engineer and clean energy advocate at Constellation, a leading supplier of energy products and services, where she supports the operation of 12 nuclear power plants, with a focus on the reactor fuel core design. She creates social media content, participates in public engagements, and hosts educational workshops to emphasize the benefits of nuclear energy while inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and mathematicians. She is also pursuing a master of business administration (MBA) degree at Arizona State University. Vanderhei serves on the board of directors of the American Nuclear Society.

Outside the nuclear industry, Vanderhei is an avid water-skier, classical violinist, and travel enthusiast. During the competition where she was crowned Miss America — making her only the third person from Wisconsin to earn that title — she also won the Preliminary Night 2 and took home the top talent award for her violin performance of Vivaldi’s “Storm.”

According to Vanderhei, “I’m not looking to change the entire world on my own — all I need to do is make the one connection that will start a chain reaction.”