Ellyn Grace Tuckwiller
UNTIL NEXT TIME
story by ERIN WALLACE photos by PAUL NURNBERG
Our younger selves, in some way or another, are tiny glimpses into what our future selves will become. As our good friend Peter Pan says, “To live will be an awfully big adventure,” and he could not be more right. Life after high school can seem daunting. The fear of the unknown can cast a shadow on the hope of what is to come. However, some teenagers are trying everything in their power to steer clear of Neverland because they’ve discovered the secret: the adventure continues after high school. In other words, the best is yet to come! The Complete Student (TCS) is about to send off one of these adventure-seekers. She just graduated as Valedictorian, and her name is Ellyn Grace Tuckwiller.
Ellyn Grace was born and raised right here in Beaufort with her older sister, Anne Watts, who has about four years on her, and her parents, John and Jennifer. Beaufort is fortunate to have Ellyn Grace as a part of this town as she contributes more than the average resident to this community, and she’s only 18! Even though Ellyn Grace is a dedicated high schooler, she spends her time in various other activities and volunteers happily. To start, she is an amazing competition dancer with Derrick Ballet Conservatory and has been dancing for ten years in total. This means Ellyn Grace spends 20 hours a week dancing, not including the weekend rehearsals she attends! Her time is also spent at the studio as a dance teacher assisting dance classes. In fact, she has accumulated 300 hours of volunteering through this gig of instructing! Growing up, Ellyn Grace called herself a “sports hopper” as she tried too many sports to keep track of, but it wasn’t until she discovered dancing that she knew it was the sport she was always meant to do.
Ellyn Grace is also a part of her school’s chess and math teams. Since she attends a small private school, she decided to try both clubs and has proven herself a brilliant young lady. Additionally, Ellyn Grace is the co-president of the prom planning/fundraising committee with her best friend, Isabella Steele. This powerhouse duo has planned homecoming, prom, and almost all the fundraisers for TCS over the past three years! I asked Ellyn Grace how she manages all these extracurricular activities while focusing on her studies, and she said, “It’s definitely difficult, but I think I would get bored if I didn’t have too much going on.” For Ellyn Grace, her plate being constantly full is what she needs to thrive, and she certainly is thriving with graduation around the corner. The secret to surviving Ellyn Grace’s packed schedule is this: She claims to be an extrovert six days out of the week, and on that seventh day, she is sure to be at home tucked away from all social interactions with a book in hand.
Before Ellyn Grace was a student at TCS, she went to Lady’s Island Middle School. These past four years of high school at TCS have been her favorite part of her educational career so far. This is mainly in part because she is able to dance more while not having to worry about failing out of school due to absences. Ellyn Grace commented that in the past, she had good grades, but her absences due to dance competition affected her grades negatively. At a point in time, Ellyn Grace considered graduating early and could have made it happen with her phenomenal work ethic. However, with the friends she acquired at TCS and her senior class (equaling a total of 16 kids) going on a trip to Europe starting on June 1st, she knew in her heart that staying the full year was the best choice. On that note, Ellyn Grace stated, “I enjoy waking up every morning and going to school, which is not something a lot of high schoolers could say.” This talented high schooler is on to something as she has seen her private school grow from 40 kids when she first started to 100 kids now!
Now you may be asking where Miss Ellyn Grace’s adventure is leading her next? She is going to the University of South Carolina in Columbia and will be majoring in chemistry and minoring in dance. Ellyn Grace is not fully ready to quit dance yet, but she also doesn’t want the time commitment she currently has with the sport, so this is the perfect alternative. With Ellyn Grace studying chemistry in college, she hopes to go to medical school and then proceed to work in trauma surgery. Although, if that option does not work out, Ellyn Grace’s backup option is to work in forensic science and possibly go the FBI route.
Contrary to most people, Ellyn Grace enjoys high-stress environments and said that she functions well under stress. The lifestyle she currently lives undoubtedly reflects that, and it’s what makes her so unique and is going to be what helps her go far in this world. In society, we tend to shy away from anything that brings stress, but Ellyn Grace has already learned to turn stressful situations into successful ones.
As Ellyn Grace’s big adventure continues down the line, she hopes to live in a big city after college, as she has spent her whole upbringing in our beloved small town. Though this is all she knows right now, she is ready to experience all that life has to offer. As long as she can remember, she has been super independent. One of her future goals is financial independence. She would love to pay for her own car, own house, and even possibly her own wedding someday! The sky’s the limit with this high school graduate, and Ellyn Grace hopes to even maybe one day come back to Beaufort and have her own kids attend TCS as she can’t imagine her kids having anything other than the kind of school experience she’s had the last four years. Beaufort is both sad and happy to see this young woman off because of her lasting impact on this community; she will be sorely missed. Let’s not look at it as a goodbye but more of a see ya later, right Beaufort? Thank you for being an exemplary role model for kids up and down the Lowcountry. Until next time, Ellyn Grace Tuckwiller!
