Grace is a gift, and her family knows it

There are a handful of students at Armijo who have the middle name Grace, but there is only one who has it as a first name. “My mom named me before I was born, and before she even knew that I was a girl,” said Grace Woodby. “My dad told me that a couple of days before they got the call saying what my gender was, my mom was in the car on her way to college, called my dad and said, ‘We are having a girl and we are going to name her Grace.¨

Woodby’s mother often says that her name means “God´s riches at Christ’s expense,” and the letters of that definition line up to spell out G-R-A-C-E. Woodby is a special gift to her family as her four siblings are substantially older. “My mom had me when she was 43 years old so she had to take a test to see if I had any extra chromosomes,” she said. All of her siblings are between 34 and 40.

Other special names that show up in Woodby’s family are Serenity and Cherish, two of her nieces. When people hear her name, they usually compliment her on it, and some even admit that Grace is their middle name.

Grace is an unusual name, but Woodby’s met a couple of girls who have had it. “A famous person I know with the name of Grace is Grace Vanderwal who is really good at playing the ukulele and singing,” she said. Woodby also likes to play ukulele.

After graduation, Woodby plans to go to college, maybe the University of Oregon, and is thinking about becoming a lawyer.

Some of her favorite things to do are practice karate, play basketball or skateboard, and she also likes to listen to music, especially Pop, 80ś, 60´s, and Soul.