They met when a mutual friend picked them up to go to the beach. He was silent during the car ride. They bonded over a cookie. She made the first move.
“I don’t think he said a word to me in the car,” said Elizabeth Brace about meeting her husband, Adam. “But when we saw each other later in the library, I always noticed he was really fun to talk to.
"One time he gave me a cookie, and I was like, ‘Oh wow! This guy’s really nice for giving me a cookie,’” she shared laughing. As the one to make the first move, she said jokingly, “So I guess this is all my fault.”
As an introvert, Adam Brace, a senior from Southern California majoring in accounting, said it was difficult for him to make friends when he first came to BYU–Hawaii. However, he said people reached out and made him feel included, including his wife, Elizabeth Brace, and his two best friends, who along with him, call themselves “the trio.”
“He was definitely shy at first,” Elizabeth Brace said. “In fact, if you don’t know him really well, he might not talk a lot when he first meets you. But it’s really surprising when you do get to know him because he’s really open and fun and funny.”
“The trio”
BYUH student Leata Wilson said she, Adam Brace and the third member of “the trio,” Geun Young (Ryan) Hong from South Korea, were always found together at Church activities, like family home evenings, temple nights and ward movie nights.
“It didn’t take long before I considered Adam as my white brother and Ryan my Asian brother. We became really close and somewhat inseparable at ward activities. Anyone who was new to the ward knew we were really close.” She joked they even fought like siblings.
“It was when they became comfortable with hitting me and being hit by me that I realized I was stuck with them no matter how much I wanted to get rid of both of them. The rest was history.”
Wilson, a senior from New Zealand majoring in exercise sport science with a biomedical emphasis, said she is so grateful to have met Brace. “This might sound like I’m boasting, but I admire his courage to befriend and accept someone like me who is completely the opposite of him. Although we come from totally different cultural backgrounds and don’t share the same views on some things, he still managed to become someone who is as important to me as my own family is.”
Wilson continued, “Ryan and I easily became friends because we were both loud and kind of crazy.” Because Brace is shy, she said, “It took him a while to warm up to Ryan and I. But when he did, we easily became the best of friends.”
He’s one of those people who is impossible to know and not know Christ.
Brace’s sincerity is undoubtable, Wilson shared, emphasizing how he will always help when asked. “He’s one of those people who is impossible to know and not know Christ.”
After serving his mission in Atlanta, Georgia, Brace said he knew he wanted to experience more diversity in his life. Attending BYUH has fulfilled that, he expressed.
Brace said he has learned to embrace diversity and culture in Hawaii. “I think so many times, especially as a student from the mainland, we get caught up in our own culture and our own circle,” he shared. “The biggest thing I learned here was to reach out and expand your circle as much as you can.”
Brace recalled a favorite memory from his YSA ward when they went to his bishop’s house and made Fijian curry with a Fijian student. “It was super cool to have that experience, and I don’t think if I was in Provo [or] Idaho or anywhere else on the mainland that I would be making curry with three students from other countries. … So I think those experiences are what makes the school
so different.”
Married life
Adam Brace said he and his wife were married in December 2019 at the start of the pandemic.
Elizabeth Brace recalled what those first few months were like. She said they lived in Oregon and spent most of their time studying.
“I remember we went outside for a walk one time, and he saw the most adorable cat. His face just lit up. He really loves cats and cute animals. I think something else I really liked about him is very small things can bring him a lot of joy.” She said little moments like that carried them through the difficult times of the pandemic.
“Adam is a really great husband. His strength comes from communicating. He’s really open about his feelings when you ask him, and he’s just a lot of fun, too. He doesn’t need skydiving or crazy adventures. He just is really fun to go out on a bike ride with or play board games,” she added.
Starting a new chapter
Adam Brace said seeing his family, especially his mom, working so hard motivates him to succeed in his own work and studies. “My mom was the primary worker in my family. … She’s a nurse and typically worked four nights a week for 10 or 12 hour shifts and then worked overtime on top of that to provide for our family. My dad ended up taking over the stay-at-home dad role to continue taking care of the kids while we were at home.”
He said he has been inspired by his own family and his friend’s families with parents who have successful careers.
His wife said they are sad their BYUH journey is coming to end. “We have both been here for four years. I graduated last semester, and he will graduate this semester, so we are wrapping up a chapter,” she explained.
Adam Brace said he was accepted to the University of Utah’s graduate school. “Some people who graduated from [BYUH] are heading to school for a master’s program in the same program I’m in. So we’ll have plenty of friends there, and my wife’s sister lives there,” he shared.
Looking back, he said he can’t believe how fast graduation has come. He encouraged BYUH students to “find experiences here to cherish and remember for the rest of [their] lives because it truly is a unique place to be.