Grace McConkie: A Lifelong Commitment to Deaf Education and Advocacy

MEET Grace McConkie ‘16, ‘19

EARNED: Associate of Arts, General Studies ‘16
Bachelor of Science, Business Administration ‘19

From Utah to Delaware

Introduce yourself to Grace McConkie and you’ll be met with a beautiful smile, bright blue eyes and a warm personality, and when she speaks, it’s with knowledge, confidence and a loving spirit.

The daughter of Goldey-Beacom College professor, Dr. Robert McConkie and his wife Flora, she was born in Utah and moved to Delaware at 5 years old to live on the GBC campus where her father had accepted a teaching position. In fact, longtime professors remember Grace and her brothers Taft and Benson riding their bicycles around campus.

Early beginnings

McConkie was home schooled. Following the lead of her older brothers, she skipped high school and started GBC at age 14. They are probably the youngest students in GBC history.

“I’ve known from a very early age that I wanted to do something with American Sign Language (ASL),” said McConkie. “I saw someone interpreting during a church service, and I fell in love with it. Then I discovered that I love teaching, so I put those two things together and decided to pursue Deaf Education.”

As she met people in the Deaf community, she formed deep friendships. She completed an internship at Delaware School for the Deaf with the details finalized by GBC Career Services. She became an asset to the front office communicating with staff and students in ASL. “As a person of faith, I knew it was what God wanted me to do – help the hearing and Deaf worlds understand each other and be a bridge between these two worlds,” said McConkie.

“Now, I’m getting my master’s degree in Deaf Education from McDaniel College in Westminster, Md. and will graduate in Dec. 2023,” said McConkie. “I’ve volunteered, interned and worked in the summer program at the Delaware School for the Deaf for several years. I hope to obtain full-time employment at DSD soon and am grateful for the staff members who’ve welcomed me with open arms into the Deaf community.”

McConkie is grateful for the unique opportunities that GBC gave her. Earning a college degree at a young age has enabled her to work toward her lifelong passion in ASL.

Faith has always been important to McConkie and her family. “People are surprised that we’re Christian,” she said. “As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we follow Jesus Christ and try to love every person on earth as our brother and sister; we believe we are all children of God.”

Little did McConkie know that her faith would lead her to a lifelong friendship with another Goldey-Beacom student.
Tolson and McConkie meet

“I was in a Microsoft PowerPoint class, and I needed help – desperately,” Lynda Tolson said throwing up her hands unapologetically. “It had been decades since I’d been in school, let alone college. And I see little Grace McConkie in class, and I said to myself, what’s she doing here? Why is this little girl in a college classroom?”
Initially, Tolson approached this always happy, curly blonde-haired girl (child, as Tolson saw her) and asked if her father knew anyone who could tutor her. “Little Grace”, who was only 15 years old at the time, spoke up, “I can tutor you.”

Several days later, they were granted permission from her parents and special permission from the College’s dean.
The rest can be read and felt in McConkie’s journal.

Grace’s journal entry

July 2014: “I am a tutor!
On the last session of my PowerPoint class, Lynda Tolson (an older, grandmotherly lady) asked me if Dad knew someone who could tutor her in the class. I said that maybe I could! I get paid $10.00 an hour. So far, I’ve made $50. I just love it. I love teaching. It’s such a nice feeling to teach someone and see their progress.”

July 2014: “Lynda Tolson came to the pancake breakfast with her husband, James. They stayed for two hours!”

Soon, McConkie and Tolson began to enjoy visiting each other’s churches as evidenced in an excerpt from a letter McConkie wrote to her brother in Dec. 2014:

“Last night we went to Lynda Tolson’s non-denominational Christian church (Seeds of Greatness) for a Christmas program. I was impressed with the love and acceptance shown when Mom and I came to the program with Lynda. People we did not know, and had never met before, wanted to give us hugs, simply because we were friends of Lynda!”