University of Montana Foundation

"I'd just send you to get a bookkeeping job," he said. "Since, you'll probably be walking down the aisle soon."

It was the mid-1970s, so the counselor’s opinion was, unfortunately, not that uncommon — but it wasn’t exactly what Grills had in mind.

Growing up in Butte, Montana, education was always her family’s top priority. Her father was a machinist for a copper mining company and her mother worked in the Butte school system. Neither had attended college and — though both earned a good living — they wanted something different for their five children.

Grills and her three sisters were determined to be their family’s first generation of college graduates. She had built an impressive high school resume as an A-student who excelled at accounting and computer science and eagerly took part in clubs and activities.

So, forget about college? Grills wasn’t going to do that.

Fortunately, another counselor who saw Grills’ potential had overheard the conversation and intervened.

"He pulled me into his office and said the admissions officer from University of Montana was visiting the next day," Grills explained. "He said, 'I want you there.'"

Grills was indeed there, and the next fall, after applying for "every scholarship they had," she enrolled at UM, setting off on a decades-long success story that saw her achieve academic excellence and climb to the top of the information technology industry.

As UM marks this year’s First-Generation College Student Celebration Day on Nov. 8, Grills stands as a testament to how higher education — along with a little bit of courage and perseverance — can transform lives.

Academic Excellence

Grills and her sisters had inherited a green Ford Maverick from their grandmother. They put a lot of miles on that car driving back and forth from Butte and Missoula, after they all decided to attend UM.

Maybe the Maverick was a kind of metaphor for the journey of four first-generation students setting out to do something no one in their family had done before. The car wasn’t new or particularly flashy, but it was theirs — and they loved it. It got them all through school.

"We always joked that the Maverick must have gotten a Ph.D. by the time we finished with it," Grills said.

Grills had received several of the scholarships she’d applied for — some of which were administered by the University of Montana Foundation — but admitted that the high school counselor’s discouraging words were still on her mind during her early days at UM. At first, she wasn’t sure where she fit in.

"There was still that feeling that 'Oh, I'm a girl, I'm not good at math," she said. "But then I found out that I was at the top of my class in the business school. It helped boost my confidence as a student and a leader."

After that, Grills was off and running. She joined multiple campus groups, becoming president of Spurs, the sophomore women’s honorary; working as a resident assistant in her dorm; and taking part in the UM Advocates. A local Rotary Club scholarship also allowed her to spend time studying abroad in New Zealand.

"Going from this little small-town college freshman to getting on a plane by yourself and flying to New Zealand? That's an amazing change," she said.

Grills said she grew enormously on a personal and academic level while earning her bachelor’s degree in business administration. She graduated in December 1980 with highest honors and a national Wall Street Journal Student Achievement Award to her name. She went on to earn a master’s degree in business administration from Southern Methodist University.

Not bad, considering where she started.

Giving Back

As a first-generation college student and a woman attending the UM business school in the late '70s, Grills was already breaking barriers by the time she graduated.

Today, she remains inspired to help others reach their full potential.

After graduate school and a stint at IBM, she spent 25 years working for the JD Edwards and Oracle brands, retiring in 2020 as a Vice President of Product Development.

Throughout her career, her time at UM was never far from her mind. As her professional life prospered, Grills began generously giving back to the University that helped prepare her for the working world. She began with small gifts — whatever she could afford — that increased over time.

Today, she is a champion for the College of Business, and many of her gifts demonstrate her ongoing dedication to advocating for women’s leadership.

"I’m really passionate about supporting women in the workplace," said Grills, who served six years on the UM Alumni Board of Directors and currently volunteers as a member of the Board of Trustees for the UM Foundation. "Often, if you give people a little bit of extra attention, it boosts their skills and their confidence and they just blossom."

Some of her significant contributions to UM include helping to launch the Women’s Leadership Initiative and serving as an advisor and coach for the program. She was the matching donor for the College of Business during the UM Foundation's 2023 Big Give fundraising campaign, and her donations to the college's Impact Fund supported graduate student research on gender in business colleges nationwide.

In 2024, she began aiding the College of Business' Women in Business program. She is also a lead supporter of the college's efforts to launch an upcoming symposium, conference or workshop open to all UM students that will focus on sharing tools and tips about entering the business world as well as insights from successful women leaders.

Grills now lives in the Denver area, where she raised two daughters and launched her own business coaching practice. Today, she works with the organization BetterUp, helping professionals find fulfillment and balance in their lives and careers.

As a first-generation college student, Grills blazed her own path through educational and corporate worlds, where men traditionally had more career opportunities and pathways to leadership. As a successful former executive, philanthropic donor and coach, she now helps build bridges for others chasing their own dreams.

For all this success she credits the early support of her parents, who taught her the value of hard work and instilled the belief that she and her siblings could do anything — regardless of what one high school counselor had to say.

"Everything I accomplished in life was due to my family," Grills said, "and the University of Montana."