Alumni Spotlight: Grace McDonnell

In celebration of our 25th anniversary of Ambleside School, each month we’ll be featuring a short spotlight article about graduates of our school and what they’re doing now.

Grace spent her formative years (K-8) at Ambleside School in Herndon. Now a 19-year-old sophomore studying Psychology at Samford University, Grace considers the growth and discovery of her Ambleside years as a guiding influence in her adult life.

For Grace, Ambleside was more than a traditional learning environment. "It expanded who I am outside of the regular class room," she recalls. Through her lessons, she discovered new aspects of nature, delved into spiritual reflections through Lectio Devina, and gained life wisdom from her teachers.

“I'm a pretty extroverted, talking-and-making-connections kind of person. But these classes offered me a time to set aside thoughts about grades and making social connections, and just take in beauty and appreciate it and to learn about things I had never heard of.”

She’ll never forget learning about the note composition and the rise and fall of the music in Gershwin’s "Rhapsody In Blue.” Or cultivating the skills of finding the balance of light and the brush stroke types in art reproduction. She looks for these things when touring art galleries today. Her exposure to the arts at Ambleside opened her up to see the world in a different light, and it’s something she treasures just as much now.

For Grace, it wasn’t simply what she learned, but also who guided her. She’ll always be deeply grateful for the teachers who shaped her experience — especially Ms. Meadows.

“Grammar class used to be the part of my day I dreaded the most, all because spelling seemed so daunting to me,” Grace recalls. Ms. Meadows saw her spelling struggle not as a weakness but as an opportunity for growth. Meadows introduced a personalized tool to help her – a "spelling journal." In this journal, Grace would meticulously write and rewrite the words she found challenging, which built confidence as her understanding grew.

The spelling journal, for Grace, was more than just a learning aid; it was a symbol of personalized care and support, a testament to the learning atmosphere that Ambleside prides itself on.

"It's not just about being smart," she explains. "Ambleside nurtured me to be a person of character, ready for whatever path I choose."

Besides her Ambleside years, the other biggest contributor to Grace’s development is her family (aka her "best friends"). Her mother, a veterinary surgeon, instilled in her a passion for caring, while her father, working with General Motors, taught her the art of meaningful connections. For her, they are strong role models who embody selfless service and thoughtful leadership. And like her education, her parents’ example and guidance helped shape her into the person she is today, and she is profoundly grateful for it.