Grace Thayer, a Cal Poly graduate in her early twenties, has been chosen the Lupus Inspiration Foundation for Excellence (LIFE) scholarship recipient. According to the organization’s website, it is a merit-based scholarship offered each year to a small number of persons who demonstrate both academic excellence and community commitment in the face of lupus-related problems.
Thayer was selected a finalist in February, and now, as one of five winners from across the country in 2023, she has earned financial aid to help her push through familiar — and yet to come — hurdles.
“It’s going to help me a lot,” she told KSBY. “I’ve just been able to make more connections with people with lupus. I get to share my story a little bit and I’m hoping that can help other people in the same way other winners’ stories have helped me in the past. Financially, the scholarship I won will go towards my tuition for my teaching credential next year.”
Thayer was diagnosed with the autoimmune illness when she was 12 years old, or roughly nine years ago. It’s a condition marked by severe symptoms caused by the body’s immune defenses fighting its own system – sun sensitivity, joint discomfort, rashes, aches and pains, and more.
“That’s what triggered all of the tests that figured out that I did have lupus,” Thayer said. “And growing up that meant a lot of things changed in my life.”
One of those things that changed was her passion: playing softball.
“Softball became a lot harder for me,” she said. “Which was challenging because this is my favorite thing to do.”
Thayer had played the sport throughout her youth and had hoped to one day play in college.
“I just knew it was not going to be possible” because of the symptoms, she said.
Despite this, Thayer was able to remain involved in the sport by managing the Mustang softball team. It is a Division I program that competes in the Big West conference against some of the best teams in the country.
She’s also been coaching, passing on some of her knowledge, expertise, and love of the game to those who share her enthusiasm through Aspire Softball Academy in San Luis Obispo.
“I get to be around softball every day which I absolutely love,” Thayer said. “When I get to coach I get to share my love of softball with these girls and help them achieve their goals with softball.”
There have been numerous challenges for her to overcome. The most recent was a struggle to stay on pace to graduate from Cal Poly despite mounting obstacles. Thayer had to finish her classes from a hospital bed due to complications that she described as threatening her heart and lungs.
She graduated this past spring magna cum laude with a degree in liberal studies. Her GPA? 3.87.
Now, she’s looking ahead to her next goal: earning her teaching credential.
Thayer’s love for teaching stems from her interactions with Templeton-area instructors. Those encounters fueled not just her love of reading and writing, but also her desire to be a great role model for other children, she explained.
Thayer, who has been formed by a slew of internal and external events and obstacles, will undoubtedly have a lot to pass on.
“But really what lupus has taught me is: you just go through whatever is given to you and to be strong, to persevere,” Thayer said. “Go with what you’re given and really work hard for what you want to do.”