Grace Yockey, a 2023 graduate of Western Washington University, has built a following of more than 20,000 people on Instagram by sharing her life as a full-time caregiver for her grandmother, Valerie, who lives with dementia. The account, @vlogswithvava, caught the attention of USA Today earlier this year and is set to be featured in a segment on the Today Show on Monday, September 7.
From Bellingham to Caregiving
Yockey earned her degree in Business and Sustainability at Western Washington University, graduating in 2023. During her time on campus she worked as a Resident Advisor, first in the Beta-Gamma community in Ridgeway Hall and later in Alma Clark Glass and Buchanan Towers. The Resident Advisor role at WWU is not simply a housing job. It requires students to build and sustain community, respond to crises, mediate conflict, and serve as a consistent point of contact for dozens of residents who may be navigating their first time away from home. Those skills, the ability to be present for people who are struggling while also maintaining one's own equilibrium, translate directly into caregiving work in ways that are easy to overlook.
She also worked as an Admissions Advisor after graduation, maintaining her connection to the university before deciding to move in with her grandmother and take on caregiving responsibilities full-time. That decision, to step away from a conventional career path in order to care for a family member with dementia, is both practically demanding and emotionally complex. Rather than keeping that experience private, Yockey began documenting it on Instagram, posting candid glimpses of daily life with her grandmother, from outings to local coffee shops and piano sessions at home to quieter moments of connection and challenge.
The account's appeal lies partly in its honesty. Caregiving for a loved one with dementia is rarely portrayed with the humor and tenderness that Yockey brings to @vlogswithvava, and the combination has resonated far beyond the Pacific Northwest. The account has grown into a community that includes other young caregivers who find both validation and companionship in Yockey's posts. Dementia caregiving is frequently invisible work, absorbed by family members who do it out of love and obligation without the social recognition or financial compensation that professional care receives. Yockey's account gives that work a face and a voice.
A WWU Education Put to Work in an Unexpected Way
Yockey credits her time at Western with shaping both her values and the community she has built online. "Western holds such a special place in my heart and truly helped shape both the person I am today and the community I've built," she said in comments shared by the university.
Her degree in Business and Sustainability reflects a curriculum at WWU that emphasizes the intersection of commerce, ethics, and environmental thinking. That background may not seem like an obvious precursor to running a caregiving-focused social media account, but the principles overlap in meaningful ways. Building an authentic community, communicating a genuine mission, and sustaining a long-term project that serves others are all things her degree prepared her for. The sustainability framing is worth noting specifically: the field asks students to think about long-term consequences, interdependence, and the value of what does not show up in conventional profit calculations. Those are exactly the questions that arise when a young person chooses caregiving over career advancement.
Her professor Craig Dunn, who appears in a graduation photo shared by WWU, was among the faculty members who influenced her during the program. The Business and Sustainability major is housed within WWU's College of Business and Economics, which has grown in recent years as demand for graduates with both business skills and social awareness has increased. The program draws students who want to build careers at the intersection of purpose and practice, and Yockey represents a version of that aspiration that plays out in an unexpected arena.
Tito the Cat, a Campus Legend and Family Companion
No story about Grace and Vava is complete without mentioning Tito, a cat who grew up alongside Yockey during her years as a Resident Advisor on campus. Yockey got Tito when he was just a kitten, and he grew up with her across three different residence hall placements: Ridgeway Beta, Alma Clark Glass, and Buchanan Towers. Tito became something of a beloved figure at Western, known to students and staff who encountered him on walks around the residence halls. His presence was a memorable part of Yockey's experience as an RA, and his campus adventures became part of the community she built during her time at WWU.
He has since transitioned into a new role: providing comfort and companionship for Yockey's grandmother, Valerie, whose days are brightened by his presence. The detail is small but telling. A cat who was once a minor celebrity on a university campus now provides quiet comfort in a private home where an elderly woman with dementia lives her days. Animals are increasingly recognized for their therapeutic value in dementia care, offering sensory engagement, emotional comfort, and a point of connection that does not require verbal memory or sequential thought. Tito, without any formal training, appears to be doing exactly that work. It is the kind of thread that runs through @vlogswithvava and explains why the account has found such a wide audience.
Catching the Today Show Segment
The Today Show segment featuring Yockey and her grandmother is scheduled to air on Monday, September 7, which happens to be Labor Day. Viewers interested in watching it live can tune in to NBC during the morning hours. Given the timing of the segment on a holiday when many people are home, it may reach an even larger audience than a typical weekday feature. National morning television exposure of this kind can dramatically accelerate a social media community's growth, and it is likely to introduce Yockey's work to millions of viewers who have never encountered the account before.
For anyone who wants to follow along with Grace and Vava before or after the segment airs, the account is @vlogswithvava on Instagram. The account is public and updated regularly. The Bellingham and WWU community that helped shape Yockey into the person she is today has plenty of reason to tune in and share the moment. What she has built, starting from a campus in Bellingham and expanding into a national conversation about young caregivers, is exactly the kind of story that reflects well on the people and the institution that were part of her formation.
