The newly crowned Miss America Grace Stanke returned to Madison for her homecoming on Friday night where she performed violin and answered questions for the crowd.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison, where Stanke attends, hosted the homecoming in the Memorial Union play circle. The event included a Q&A with Stanke and a live performance of her talent, the violin. Other state title holders showcased their talents as openers of Stanke’s main performance.
Stanke is a 20-year-old from Wausau, Wisconsin, and was crowned Miss America Dec. 15, 2022. Stanke is a nuclear engineering major at UW, and she shared her passion for clean energy with the crowd Friday night. Stanke is also a Division One athlete for waterskiing at UW-Madison.
Miss America Teen Morgan Greco performed the national anthem to begin the night. Greco held the title of Miss Washington Teen before competing in Miss America Teen. Greco’s talent is singing, and she later shared a beautiful opera that left the crowd awestruck.
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Many state title holders, including Miss South Dakota, Miss Illinois and Miss Connecticut shared performances on stage that included baton twirling, singing and social initiative speeches. Each state title holder that attended the homecoming came on stage, shared their name, state and social initiative.
As she addressed the crowd’s questions, many of Stanke’s responses included advice for younger girls who wish to follow in her footsteps. Stanke shared that UW, specifically the nuclear engineering department, has been extremely understanding in her journey to Miss America.
“That department has been so flexible,” Stanke said. “They’ve been supporting everything I’ve done ranging from Miss Wisconsin all the way up to Miss America where now I’m able to do school online and virtually as Miss America.”
More state title holders came to the stage to perform and give speeches. Each performance ended in a roar of applause from the audience.
Stanke took the stage once again for a final violin performance playing “Storm” from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Stanke’s talent piece. The performance was enthralling. Watching Stanke’s quick hands switch from note to note on a difficult piece to master.
Stanke captivated the crowd with her performance and personality, leaving the crowd in a standing ovation before she exited the stage.
