From being a varsity archer, to competing in the World Championships with robotics, Grace has done it all. Despite struggling with chronic pain and complex medical issues daily, she takes dual enrollment college classes, travels with her family, hikes, plays piano, and more.
Grace says archery is a rare sport that allows her to compete on the same playing field with everyone else with minimal accommodations and it’s no wonder this sport has become a big part of her life. With hard work and dedication, she has competed at the state, national, and world championships for the last three years and placed fifth in state tournaments.
At 15 months old she had her first migraine episode. Since then, she’s been diagnosed with dysautonomia, Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos syndrome, cyclic vomiting syndrome, and autism.
Her disabilities have led her to meet some of her best friends as well as other kids with similar chronic health conditions. Being a mentor for these younger kids pushed Grace to advocate for kids with disabilities. She’s been to Capitol Hill to advocate for rare disease awareness, given two TedEd Student talks about ableism, and worked with nonprofits on projects to benefit the community of people with disabilities in South Carolina.
Grace volunteered for LOOK! to help show younger kids that having a disability is not your whole story. No matter what people tell you, you can still do the things you want even with a disability.