Grace Vanderhei wearing a crown and sash holding a bouquet of red roses, being crowned Miss America 2023, surrounded by other contestants.

Miss America Journey

Ah, the pageant chapter of my life. I look back on it fondly, but I’ve so enjoyed being on the other side of pageantry now! However, going down memory lane is always a joy.

Becoming Miss America wasn’t something I ever planned on - in fact, prior to heading to the competition in December of 2022, I had accepted a job offer and was beginning to plan for my senior design project for that following spring. Going into the week as Miss Wisconsin was a joy. I had the opportunity to represent my home state, and I was thrilled to bring my best to the competition stage and close the pageant chapter of my life.

When the moment came that the crown was being placed on my head, I honestly thought to myself that this is either going to be career ending or career launching; a nuclear engineering student becoming Miss America? People already make stereotypes of nuclear science, and they already make stereotypes about any type of pageantry - how could they ever take a woman in a crown and sash talking about nuclear science seriously?

That truly was what was going through my head at the moment you see in the photo here. I had achieved this “dream”, but was uncertain of the next steps.

After a few days of press interviews with nearly every major news outlet, I got on a flight home. I was unaware of it at the time, but the Miss America program was going through business changes - so, I was able to enjoy the holidays at home and do what every sensible engineer does: I made a plan.

I quite literally wrote out a business plan and what I wanted to achieve in my year. The primary objectives are summarized below:

Visit and spotlight 10 state titleholders.
Attend and speak at 30 clean energy conferences, 5 of them being international.
Assist in reopening of Palisades Nuclear Power Plant & maintain open status of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. Palisades will have the okay from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to receive funding to reopen, and Diablo Canyon will stay open throughout the Year of Service.
Create 5 nuclear-education TikToks/Reels that receive over 100k views.
Increase candidate participation across the country by 5%.

Grace Vanderhei, Miss America 2023, wearing a crown, a faux fur coat, and black leather pants, resting her head on her hand with jewelry and accessories.

Grace Vanderhei in a white safety helmet and glasses taking a selfie in front of a large cooling tower at a power plant, with a bright sky overhead.

Grace Vanderhei, Miss America 2023 wearing a red dress, a crown, and a sash reading 'Miss America' is holding a gavel and smiling. She is in a formal setting with wooden paneling and ornate chairs.

Looking back in hindsight, it’s pretty awesome knowing that nearly all of these things happened. I ended up visiting over 25 states, and a total of 6 new countries throughout my year as Miss America. My total travel ended up coming to approximately 270,000 miles of air travel and car travel.

I posted social media content that received as high as 6 million views on my person account - blowing the 100k view goal out of the water. I can’t speak to candidate participation in the organization, as the Miss America titleholder is not privy to any kind of business information.

The only one that was achieved - but not due to my assistance or aide in any way - was item number 3. Palisades has continued their reopening process, and Diablo Canyon is still in operation and expecting to operate for longer. Teams of incredible individuals made that happen at each of those sites.

While I wasn’t able to visit either of those sites during my year, I did have the opportunity to visit a variety of different nuclear sites. I visited operating commercial plants in Japan, and all across the United States ranging from Arizona, to Washington, to Pennsylvania. I was able to sit in the control room at Vogtle Unit 3 when it hit 70% power. I visited National Lab facilities, fuel manufacturing facilities, uranium conversion facilities, and more. I was able to spotlight nuclear and help make it visible. For an industry that used to operate under the saying of “no news is good news,” we certainly hit the news throughout the year.

I was honored to be named the “New Face of Nuclear Energy” by the Wall Street Journal, and to be on the Forbes 30 Under 30 List for Energy in 2023. All this, but the most impactful result from the year has been when I’m at career fairs three years later and I meet so many young students who heard me speak to their school or watched my social media videos and they’re the ones pursuing careers in nuclear energy now.

I additionally had a few other items broken down and planned out in my business plan, including maintaining Miss America traditional appearances. Let’s go through the slightly more sparkly part of being a Miss America!

Grace Vanderhei, Miss America 2023 with blonde updo wearing a black strapless gown with gold accents, the Miss America 2023 crown, and large earrings, smiling and posing against a gray background.

Grace Vanderhei, Miss America 2023 wearing a crown and a red gown with Miss America sash holding a large bouquet of red roses with a red ribbon. She is smiling and waving. The background shows a city street with autumn trees and colorful decorations.

Grace Vanderhei, Miss America 2023 pageant winner in a pink dress with red shoulder accents, wearing a sash that says 'Miss America,' holding a large gold trophy, smiling in front of a crowd.

To be honest, I wasn’t always the one for glitz and glamour. Most people from the pageant circle would actually tell you that I often avoided it as much as I could. However, I still was able to attend a few events and feel like I was still being my most authentic self. Part of my business plan was to continue the “traditional” Miss America appearances, such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and attending the Kentucky Derby. Thanks to my Miss America business manager, we were able to make this happen amongst the rules and changes that were ongoing in the program.

The most important part of my Year of Service as Miss America 2023 was the people I met. To the woman who chased me down in the airport to share her story about her brother passing away from a drunk driver and told me about her program to prevent drunk driving - I hear you and I will always uplift your story. To the man who was battling cancer, and receiving the same analogous bone marrow transplant that my dad did when he went through cancer - I hear you, and I will always help support cancer patients across the nation. To students like Daisy, Maya, Ethan, Lauren, Kylie, and more - never stop pursuing your dreams. No dream is too big. To every single person I interacted with as Miss America; thank you. The people at appearances, events, and even online, are what made this experience so valuable for me. I loved every second of hearing your stories, your passions, and your dreams. I loved supporting you in times of need - when that extra little sparkle made all the difference.

My year as Miss America may be over, but I am so lucky to help support so many women learn the same skills I did from my time competing. From working with my mom to start the Miss Wausau Area Scholarship Competition, to donating to the Miss Wisconsin Scholarship Organization, I have loved giving back and mentoring so many young women. Here’s to strong women. Here’s to the Women Who Can.