PHOENIX — We are just days away from the APS Electric Light Parade - a time-honored holiday tradition here in the Valley!
ABC15 is once again a proud sponsor.
Ahead of all those dazzling lights sparking down Central Avenue, ABC15's Nick Ciletti spoke to this year's grand marshal, Miss America 2023 Grace Stanke!
"We're here at Palo Verde. As a nuclear engineering student, I've never been in containment before so I'm super excited about this. It's going to be a ton of fun!"
That's what current Miss America Grace Stanke said in a YouTube video as she got to tour the Palo Verde Generating Station recently.
"I first learned about the nuclear engineering major at a college tour when I was in high school just kinda driving around the country with my mom on a road trip," she explains.
In addition to being Miss America, Stanke is also a student at UW Madison in Wisconsin and majors in nuclear engineering.
And now, she's touring the country, advocating for the responsible use of nuclear energy.
"Growing up, did you ever think you'd be a nuclear engineer?" Ciletti asked.
"No, actually. Nuclear engineering was not something I was exposed to growing up at all. I was exposed to engineering," Stanke replied. "My dad is a civil engineer. It wasn't until I was 16 or 17 that I was looking for different types of engineering, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life that I came across nuclear."
Stanke says, from the start, she knew she had found her calling.
"Ever since then, I noticed how nuclear exists all around us - in our homes, in our daily lives, smoke detectors, exit signs, radiation treatments — my dad is a two-time cancer survivor because of nuclear medicine - and on top of that, it powers 18% of America, through nuclear energy. That blows my mind."
But that's not Stanke's only platform. As Miss America, she's hoping to inspire the next generation of scientists — especially females.
"I want everyone to be excited about nuclear and I want everyone to be engaged with it — and it's been incredible because it's allowed for women not to be put in boxes," says Stanke. "It allows for many young women to be in a career path they may never heard of before."
We also discussed the history of nuclear energy in our country and what critics have said.
"A lot of people are concerned about safety or concerned about nuclear fuel. There are so many incredible things that we have been able to accomplish when it comes to spent nuclear fuel - we have the ability to repurpose it and recycle it to pull out 90-95% of what's in that spent nuclear and put it back into a power plant."
The parade kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
For more information, click here.
