Mark, Susan and Sophie Wallis continue to help young women with a disability achieve their dreams through the Gracie Wallis Scholarship. Photos: Sylvia Liber.
When Woonona’s beloved Gracie Wallis passed away in 2018, just a week after her 13th birthday, her family found a way to channel their grief into a powerful legacy of hope.
They established the Gracie Wallis Scholarship, an initiative that honours young women with a disability and helps them achieve their dreams.
Since 2019, the scholarship has been presented annually at the International Women’s Day (IWD) Illawarra luncheon, a cherished tradition for the Wallis family and wider community whose lives she touched.
For Gracie’s mother Susan, the luncheon, which marks its 20th anniversary on 7 March, has become much more than a date on the calendar – it’s a day of remembrance, celebration and empowerment.
“Now the IWD lunch is our family’s favourite day of the year. It’s bigger than Christmas,” Susan said.
“We affectionately call it Gracie Day.”
The scholarship is a deeply personal mission for Susan. Inspired after first receiving the Cate Stevenson IWD Scholarship for Women (Education, Business and Community Service) in 2015 for her work in the disability space, she said her family would one day have a scholarship to honour Gracie.
“The majority of the scholarships are in memory of a woman that’s passed away,” she said.
“My motivation was that we were honouring older women, we were honouring sports women, we were honouring creative women, but disabled women were not being represented in that space. It was an obvious gap to me.
“I said it knowing that it would be posthumous… but we had no idea how soon that would happen. And unfortunately, Gracie did pass away in 2018.”
Born with a hypoxic brain injury and cerebral palsy, Gracie, affectionately known as ‘Amazing Grace’, formed deep connections with everyone around her.
Gracie and Susan had lobbied and campaigned through the NDIS campaign Every Australian Counts in Wollongong, resulting in Gracie being “a bit of a celebrity”.
So when she passed away and the family decided to ask for donations to the scholarship fund in lieu of flowers, the gesture quickly gained momentum.
“She had a big profile and when she passed away I knew there would be an outpouring of love, support and grief,” Susan said.
Mark and Sophie Wallis perform during the IWD luncheon.
She said Gracie passed away on 5 July and by her funeral on 11 July they had raised “more than a couple of bunches of flowers”.
“It was about $7000 in the first 24 hours. Now I’m getting emotional…” she paused.
“I think it was $14,000 by the time we had her funeral and, all in all, I think we’ve raised $30,000 to date.”
While Susan had a history of fundraising, living up to her word of repaying organisations such as Child Flight and The Disability Trust for their care, her campaigning skills have yet to be needed with the scholarship fund.
Managed by Interchange Illawarra, the funds continue to grow to this day.
It has supported five young women to date, with recipients using the funds for education, professional development or personal goals.
Macenzie Howard, a young woman with cerebral palsy, used the scholarship to study a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of Wollongong. It still makes Susan emotional when she talks about it.
“If I could have hand picked a first recipient, it would have been Macenzie,” she said, through tears.
“I’m emotional because she’s just graduated from that degree with honours, and she came first.”
Gracie’s younger sister Sophie has played a pivotal role in the scholarship’s annual presentation.
Since she was 12, Sophie has presented the award at the IWD luncheon as a meaningful way to connect with Gracie’s legacy. Since 2020 she’s sung the national anthem in the Dharawal language as part of the ceremony.
“My husband’s a semi-professional musician, so he plays the guitar and accompanies her and it’s the most stressful gig he ever does,” Susan said.
“So when I say it’s Gracie Day, it’s also Sophie’s Day as well.”
2019 scholarship recipient Macenzi Howard (centre) with Sophie and Susan Wallis.
Now 17, Sophie has grown into the role with a background in public speaking and being described as strong and articulate.
“I knew that she could do it,” Susan said.
“The first year in particular, I was an absolute sobbing, soggy mess, but Sophie was so composed.
“The IWD committee and the community have watched Sophie grow from year to year. They’ve seen our family rise from the ashes.”
Susan said the scholarship wasn’t limited to academic or professional pursuits, it was about empowering women with disabilities to pursue their dreams, whatever they may be.
She said those dreams ranged from a young woman with Down syndrome starting her own laundry business to a young deaf woman who had escaped domestic violence now supporting other deaf women to recover from similar abuse.
“For me, I think I’ll be most excited the year we buy a wedding dress or we pay for driving lessons,” Susan said.
“I’m just as excited about making someone’s personal life exciting.”
She said being involved in IWD and the scholarship had exceeded anything she could have imagined in 2015, with the scholarship more than a tribute but a lifeline, a source of pride and a way to ensure Gracie’s light continued to shine.
“If we never do anything else right in our lives, we’re pretty proud of this,” she said.
“I’m just making sure she’s never forgotten.”
Through tears, Susan shared a poignant reflection from Sophie about how a woman told her that when people died, they died twice.
“The first time is the last time they take a breath and the second time is the last time someone speaks their name,” she said.
“Through this scholarship, Gracie won’t die twice.”
Since 2006, the IWD Illawarra Committee has awarded $163,000 in scholarships, encouraging women to pursue their dreams.
IWD 2025 luncheon will be held 7 March at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong. Learn more about the eight scholarships and apply before 5 February here.
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