A nuclear engineering student whose ambition is to stop our reliance on carbon energy has been crowned Miss America 2023.
Grace Stanke, representing the state of Wisconsin, beat 50 other contestants to the title on Thursday night, one from each state plus a representative from the District of Columbia. She impressed the judges with her answers as well as her violin-playing in the talent round.
Miss New York Taryn Delanie Smith was crowned first runner-up, while Miss Texas Averie Bishop was named second runner-up at the event, held at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
Stanke, 20, who describes herself as a "nuclear nerd", is a student at the University of Wisconsin. In her profile on the Miss America website, she says she has made it her goal to break down misconceptions surrounding nuclear power.
"America needs to convert to zero-carbon energy sources," she says. "I advocate for nuclear power and improved communication about nuclear science with both the general public and nuclear engineers to bridge the gap of the unknown between the two groups of people."
Stanke succeeds Emma Broyles, who became the first Korean-American as well as the first Miss Alaska to win the Miss America title.
Broyles arrived on Thursday wearing a dress printed with the faces of all the previous Miss America winners, designed by former Project Runway contestant Aaron Michael in association with Viper Apparel.
"We couldn't be here as an organisation without them," Broyles said on stage.
While Miss America titleholders do not represent the US at any global pageants, it is one of the oldest beauty pageants in existence, originating in 1921 as a swimsuit competition. The contest has evolved over the years, and in 1945 started awarding university scholarships to the winner instead of prize money.
It made news in 2018 when it announced it was dropping the swimsuit and evening gown competition and would no longer judge contestants on their physical appearance.
Rival contest, Miss USA, picks the US representative for the global Miss Universe competition. Beauty queen R'Bonney Gabriel made history in October by becoming became the first Filipina-American to be named Miss USA, beating 49 other candidates.
As Miss America, Stanke will travel extensively across the US for the next year, to advance the goals of the Miss America Organisation, as well as her own advocacy.
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
