Miss America 2023 Grace Vanderhei to address winter graduates

In 2023, while in the process of finishing her nuclear engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Grace (Stanke) Vanderhei logged roughly 270,000 miles of travel across the globe.

That’s because, alongside preparing for her finals and getting her cap and gown ready, Vanderhei was also fulfilling her responsibilities as that year’s reigning Miss America.

Now, on Dec. 14, Vanderhei — a nuclear fuels engineer, Wausau native, water-skier and violinist — will be back in Madison as the Winter 2025 Commencement ceremony’s keynote speaker.

“Madison is a place where I found a community in friends and professors and in shared experiences,” says Vanderhei, who recalls campus as a welcome anchoring point during her year-long travels. “I remember that about graduation, the camaraderie and friendship I felt celebrating with all those people who had come together in four years. I hoped that feeling would last, and it really has.”

Vanderhei has carried that feeling around the world, advocating for nuclear energy and life-saving nuclear medicine, and working to refuel and recommission nuclear power plants in the Midwest and on the East Coast as an engineer with American energy company Constellation.

“The way Grace Vanderhei leapt at the opportunity to carry the Wisconsin Idea to a global stage is a real inspiration for everyone at UW–Madison,” says Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin. “Grace has represented not only her home state of Wisconsin but also Badgers everywhere with intellect, passion and charm. Though she isn’t so far removed from her own UW–Madison commencement, I know she will have a lot to share with this year’s graduates.”

Senior class officers, in consultation with the Chancellor’s Office, choose UW–Madison commencement speakers each fall and spring.

“We know Badgers have the creativity and drive to break the mold and upend people’s expectations,” says Caasi Woji, senior class president. “There’s no better example than a nuclear engineer who was also Miss America. We’re excited to hear from Grace as a new class of UW grads set out on their own unique paths.”

Vanderhei didn’t initially consider nuclear science a key waypoint on her own path. But hands-on research and outreach opportunities she had as part of the College of Engineering HSX nuclear fusion project opened her eyes to evolving nuclear technology. It also helped her discover her talent for sharing science. When a planned internship in another field fell through, she landed one with Constellation that turned into a job and a career she is excited about.

The process of finding your path may not always seem rewarding at the start, Vanderhei says, but she encourages graduates to stick with it.

“Before I had the chance at UW–Madison to experience all this, I never would have thought of it as my dream scenario. Now I know I genuinely wouldn’t have had it any other way,” she says. “Graduation is one of those major life transitions where you might find yourself wondering, ‘Where am I going next?’ It’s okay not to have it figured out. Keep moving forward, and there will probably be a day when you look back and are glad it all happened this way.”