Gradi Goodwin Evans, ’81 & ‘86
Bachelor of Music Education
Master of Music Education
Gradi Goodwin Evans is a 1981 UofSC graduate earning a degree in Bachelor of Music Education degree in choral and instrumental music as well as a Master of Music Education degree in 1986. Both degrees, and her time at USC, helped prepare her well for her current position as Fine Arts Director at the Geneva School of Boerne.
Gradi has served as the Fine Arts Director since 2005. Geneva is a K-12 classical Christian school with approximately 700 students in the Texas Hill Country. When Gradi started at Geneva, the student body was just 165 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and she taught general music to all students. Their arts programming grew along with the school. Geneva currently has a fine arts faculty of 12 full-time teachers of art, band, choir, drama, classical guitar and orchestra.
Gradi expressed how grateful she is to have a job where she can use her love of God to teach band, put on plays and musicals; be a part of students creating beautiful pieces of art; and even teach color guard (something she did in the Carolina Band for 4 years). She feels blessed to work at a place where they can form strong bonds with our students; ask them to do hard things; and point them toward truth, beauty and goodness.
Gradi has been married to Ric Evans for 33 years. Ric is a physical therapist. Together, they have three grown children. Their son Ian and his wife Kiley live in Dallas, Texas where Ian is a CPA. Their other son Nate and his wife Nicole are in Nashville, Tennessee where Nate serves as a youth pastor. And their daughter Mikaela is a recent graduate of Texas State University and manages a restaurant in San Marcos, Texas; she is planning her wedding with fiancé Denver in October 2022.
Outside of her role at Geneva, Gradi enjoys studying the Bible, furthering music education in Malawi, Africa — where she has led two trips to teach music — and watching birds. She also enjoys playing oboe and English Horn in the Boerne Community Band.