McGill takes reins as brigade commander

Grace McGill keeps finding new avenues to serve as a leader. Fresh off a junior season where she served as a captain and led the University of North Georgia (UNG) women's soccer team with 10 goals, McGill has taken on the highest leadership role in UNG's Corps of Cadets. She will serve as brigade commander for the 2026-27 academic year.

McGill, a rising senior from Senoia, Georgia, pursuing a degree in cybersecurity, graduated from Air Assault School at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in summer 2025. She was selected to lead the 40 cadets who took part in the event alongside 140 Army soldiers. Only six of the 80 people who graduated from the Air Assault School were women.

These milestones are impressive on their own. They take on even more significance thanks to the fact that McGill could easily have taken a different path. She first committed to UNG as a student-athlete, then discovered the Corps of Cadets on the university's website. McGill figured she would give it a try, but even when she enrolled in fall 2023, she didn't initially plan to commission. The atmosphere at UNG quickly convinced her she wanted to become an Army officer.

"I love being challenged and learning in both failure and success," McGill said. "It's really enjoyable to me."

A torn ACL her freshman year was another inflection point, a moment that could have halted her momentum. Instead, her resolve strengthened.

"It really taught me who I am as a person and that I was more than a soccer player. It allowed me to learn more about myself," McGill said. "At the end of the day, I'm extremely grateful for it."

Lt. Col. Tim Palmer, executive officer and director of instruction in UNG's Military Science Department, has been impressed with McGill from the moment he met her, when she was excelling at Air Assault School. He also oversaw McGill's induction into the Scabbard & Blade military honor society. In Palmer's year of working with McGill, he observed that she seemed to perform even better as she took on greater responsibility.

"Grace is one of the most positive, uplifting, humble cadets I work with," Palmer said. "In my 30 years in the Army, I would put her on par with any of my junior officers."

Palmer said everyone loves McGill, whom he called a natural leader. He said she is unafraid to ask for advice and has a deep hunger to learn. Palmer knows she is ready to be brigade commander.

"She leads by example. That's clear to everyone," Palmer said. "We are all fortunate to have her. It's going to be great to watch her grow."

Madison Amborski, assistant athletic trainer for UNG Athletics, initially met McGill in January 2024 when Amborski's key card wasn't working during her first week at UNG and McGill opened the door for her at Memorial Hall. Little did Amborski know that McGill was not only one of her student-athletes, but that McGill was recovering from the ACL injury. Amborski said those early months helped her see how resilient McGill is, and everything since then has cemented that view.

"It's been the most amazing process to see how well she's done coming back from something as traumatic as that injury," Amborski said.

Amborski marvels at McGill's ability to balance her cyber studies, soccer and being a cadet leader. Any of those three pursuits could be considered a full-time endeavor. McGill excels in all of them while taking care of herself physically and mentally.

"She is still the most balanced person I have ever met," Amborski said. "I truly don't know how she does it."

One of the most rewarding moments for McGill came in April when she was named brigade commander and her soccer teammates showed up for the occasion. She has missed some team events due to also being a cadet, but the team's bond is unbreakable.

"Even through all that, they still love me and know I have their backs and they have mine," McGill said. "It's something truly special."

McGill chose cyber for her degree thanks to her long-held love of computers and status as a self-proclaimed "video game nerd." Her grandfather helped her build her own computer when she was in high school, and she takes it everywhere.

While her grandfather inspired her academic pursuits, fellow cadets like Jaelyn Baker, Gillian Garner and Liv Sullens have been role models for her on the military side.

"They have paved the way for what women in the Corps should aspire to be," McGill said.

She also knows her exploits on both the soccer field and as a cadet have served as fuel for other women coming behind her. The daughters of Lt. Col. James Thomasson, commandant of cadets, look up to her. She has heard similar stories from parents of other female cadets. McGill sees it as a testament to her ability to stay positive and do hard things.

"It's really awesome, and I hope to do that for everyone I can," McGill said. "I want to be a helping hand and someone others can rely on."