Former Miss America turned nuclear advocate Grace Stanke heads down under
Former Miss America turned nuclear engineer Grace Stanke is heading to Melbourne to spruik the benefits of clean energy, as part of a nation wide tour.
Fiona Byrne
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Former Miss America beauty queen turned nuclear engineer Grace Stanke is heading to Australia to spruik the benefits of nuclear energy.
Stanke, who was named the ‘New Face of Nuclear Energy’ by the Wall Street Journal while Miss America in 2023 and made it on to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for energy, will be in Melbourne on February 1 as part of the National Nuclear Tour which has been organised by 18-year-old Nuclear for Australia founder Will Shackel and is supported by entrepreneur Dick Smith.
Stanke, 22, who works as a nuclear fuels engineer and clean energy advocate in the US, said her tour was about educating people and not about politics.
“I have zero political affiliations in any capacity both here in America and in Australia,” she said.
“I want to have open and honest conversations with people about nuclear energy. I want to educate. I am as open to educating people as they are open to learning.
“This (tour) is a place where if you are on the fence, if you are uncertain, if you care about reliable energy and keeping the lights on, and you care about climate change and having emissions free energy, let’s sit down and talk about how nuclear and renewables can work together to create a strong resilient and clean energy grid.”
Stanke will be joined by Australian nuclear experts on the tour.
“The one thing that still shocks me about Australia in general is that this (nuclear energy) is such a polarised political issue,” she said.
“Here in America it is one of the few issues that our politicians actually agree on. We have federal level bills passed in support of nuclear with nearly unanimous votes and that is kind of unheard of for most American bills.
“I hope people come to one of these speaking sessions and we can have open and honest conversations about concerns and challenges that nuclear does face, because there are challenges, it is not invincible, but how can we plan for those and continue to overcome them.”
Stanke acknowledged being a Miss America titleholder and a nuclear engineer was a “pretty unique combination.”
“The skills I learned from my time competing in the Miss America program … helped me discuss some of these bigger subjects and think about the bigger picture, which I am really excited to do when it comes to being a nuclear engineer.”
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