The 2016 Rose Festival Queen is Grace Ramstad – a rose that rose in Brightwood.

“My backyard was basically a forest so my twin brother (Will), our neighbor (Emily Smith), and I would climb around in the trees pretending to live there,” Grace said. “(They) would always argue
who was the leader but I was always happy to be the chef and make ‘meals’
from the plants around us. I definitely grew up surrounded by nature.”

Grace’s road to the Rose Festival stage meandered from the Mountain,
through Welches School, Cedar Ridge, Sandy High, and finally Centennial, as,
along with the support of her family, she always sought to get the best
education possible.

Grace’s commitment to excellence has a new reward, fitting of a queen.
“When I first heard my name announced as queen I had a moment of
disbelief,” Grace said. “Then all of the princesses circled around me in a hug
and I got a moment to feel their support and know that I was picked for a
reason.”

“What sets Grace apart is that she has always been willing to work hard to
learn and achieve,” her mother Rita Ramstad said. “She’s been willing to
make sacrifices ... which twice meant leaving her friends and community and
changing schools. That’s not always been easy.”

Grace got a great start at Welches School. Besides becoming a Student of
Merit in The Mountain Times, she cited the special relationships she forged
with her teachers.

“I credit the people and experiences I had growing up on the Mountain for my
accomplishments,” Grace said.

“Throughout elementary school I attended speech classes to fix my speech
impediments, and now I’ve competed nationally in public speaking events and
serve in several positions such as Rose Festival Queen that are based around
communication skills.”

Two teachers, in particular, had a profound impact on Grace. In fourth and
fifth grade Virginia Knowles fed Grace her love of books and encouraged her
writing.

“Because Grace was seriously injured in a playground accident, she had to
miss the last five weeks of fifth grade,” Rita said. “Virginia agreed to be her
tutor, coming to our house to give Grace assignments and keep her connected
to classmates.”

The other was Tom Wallace who agreed to let Grace come into his fourth/fifth
grade class for writing instruction, when she was in third grade.
“I would not be where I am today without my Mountain community,” Grace
said.

She will move on to Georgetown University (Washington D.C.) this fall and
intends to major in government with a minor in education.
A rosy future awaits.