Grace Goes Nuclear

“I fell in love with nuclear engineering: I learned that the same nuclear science I grew up cautiously afraid of was what saved my dad from Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer, twice. I learned that nuclear energy powers 20% of America and 10% of the globe.”

One of the most common asked questions I get is “How did you get into nuclear science?” Very rarely does Miss America, nuclear engineer, violinist, competitive water skier, and so much more intersect in one individual. I like to say nuclear engineering is one of my personality traits – so how did it start? How did I get into nuclear science? I was very fortunate that I grew up around engineering and visiting construction sites via my dad, who was a civil engineer. When I was 16 years old I was touring colleges and came across Nuclear Engineering as a potential major, and like any other 16 year old, I thought “Man this sounds so cool!!!” Instead, I applied at the University of Wisconsin

Madison. I ended up falling in love with nuclear engineering – I learned that the same nuclear science I grew up cautiously afraid of was what saved my dad from Hodgkin’s lymphoma cancer twice. I learned that nuclear energy powers 20% of America, and 10% of the globe. I learned it is the most effective power source to produce
energy for people to use. One person’s entire lifetime will produce waste the size of a soda can if it were powered by nuclear energy. I learned that nuclear is majorly present in agriculture in pesticides and sterilization. The exact thing I was afraid of growing up, was helping save my life, my family’s lives, and build a healthier future.