Grace (Gilday ’09) Bohlin

As the only daughter in a family with four boys, Grace (Gilday ’09) Bohlin sees her Oakcrest classmates as her “sisters” she calls them. 

“Ever since making Oakcrest friends, I’ve had a little flame quietly growing within myself, a passion for bringing women together,” she explains. 

What began as a passion for bringing women together by creating opportunities for mothers to grow in community and friendship through “rosary playgroup,” “nature co-op,” and “playground crew,” has now led Grace into the position as the Program Coordinator with the non-profit organization, Girl Talk. Girl Talk seeks to inspire girls to be “confident leaders through peer-to-peer mentoring programs.” 

“Their programs are designed to celebrate, equip, and empower women with the tools they need to recognize and radiate their inherent dignity through content, community, and connection,” Grace said. “It’s exactly what I had been looking for!”

Her role with Girl Talk currently consists of “part development, part curriculum building, and part recruitment,” she explains. “Curriculum building is my jam! I love dreaming of the big picture with the team, then traveling into the nitty gritty and developing ways to communicate content. I also love reconnecting with friends to share our mission and strategizing with the Girl Talk Team about how to connect with new women.”

Prior to working with Girl Talk, Grace had a career singing opera and liturgical music. Most recently, she sang with the Maryland Lyric Opera from 2019-2023. “Chorus with Mrs. Anne Miller led me into voice lessons between junior and senior year. Within a month of lessons, I decided I wanted singing to be my career,” she said. After graduating from Oakcrest, she received her Bachelor in Music from Furman University and Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College. 

“Chorus with Mrs. Miller gave me my first introduction to reading music, singing in harmony, and the beauty of classical music, all things I continue to draw upon on a weekly basis in my career,” she said. “My singing requires practicing on my own at home and then rehearsing with musicians to perform for the audience or lead the congregation in song. My favorite thing is singing for weddings! It doesn’t matter how crazy the wedding day is, whenever the bride walks up, I’m always teary. I love being able to help make their day a little more beautiful.” 

Grace said she particularly remembers seventh grade theology with Mrs. Deiss and social ethics with Mrs. Hanssen. 

“Seventh grade theology taught me about the Catholic faith in a way which brought it to life for me for the first time,” she explained. “Social Ethics gave me a philosophical understanding of the human person and his relation to faith, which gave me a foundation during the questioning college years, and helped me seek answers to life’s big questions in the years after college and into my master’s degree, and into marriage and motherhood for that matter!”

With gratitude for her liberal arts education, Grace said she was prepared for life after Oakcrest through strong writing and the tools to dive quickly into music. 

“I could write in a way that allowed me to be understood and whip out a four page paper in record time, so I could get back to practicing,” she remembers. “Through an appreciation for literature and poetry, I was able to interpret art songs in my master’s degree with proficiency, and now that my motherhood is underway, it’s given me the courage to read great literature and have ideas for what I want to teach my own children.” 

To the seniors who will leave Oakcrest in just a few short months, Grace hopes to impart this message: “You might have a laser gaze and know exactly what you want. You might have no clue. Either way, you are unrepeatable, important, and loved. Either way, you are going to impact the world in beautiful ways. Either way, life brings beautiful and difficult experiences your way and you can have confidence that your parents and Oakcrest education are a foundation you can rely on. Do remember family and friends will be standing by you through your successes and failures and they are the ones who are there for you like no job ever will be.”