Record Enrollment and Rich Family Traditions Mark New Year at Grace College

Grace College welcomed a total of 1,975 traditional undergraduate students to its campus this year, a new all-time high for the institution. Sixty-nine of those students are legacy students, meaning at least one of their parents has attended Grace. For freshmen roommates Simon Avey, Aiden Etner and Jack Nicodemus, all six of their parents were Grace Lancers, and collectively, they have more than 20 family members who attended Grace spanning five generations. For these three families, Welcome Weekend was a sort of homecoming.

“Coming back to Grace College to drop Simon off felt like a full-circle moment for our family,” said Dean Avey. “Walking the campus again reminded me of the impact this Christ-centered community has had on our lives, and I’m grateful Simon now gets to experience it for himself.”

Simon Avey, son of Dean and Summer, never planned on following in his parents’ footsteps.

“Even though I love Winona, I wanted to branch out a little bit,” said Simon. “But after I got to see the inward culture of Grace, it was a lot different than how I perceived it to be. Even though I’ve lived here my whole life, the Grace campus is really something completely new.”

As a senior in high school, Simon participated in the Grace College Business Plan Competition. He and his friends presented a business pitch for an apparel company they kick-started through the Kosciusko Student Venture Challenge (KSVC), a collaboration between HELP Kosciusko, local schools, KEDCO and Believe in a Dream.

“At the competition, I got to talk to Professor Glenn Grossman, and I got a sneak peek into all the really cool programs the School of Business has to offer. That just really excited me, and a lot of it fits what I’m looking for.”

Simon committed to Grace in the second semester of his senior year. He is currently a business administration major, but he hopes to further specialize as he takes classes in finance, accounting and marketing to discover what interests him most.

Simon grew up in Warsaw with Aiden Etner, son of Drew and Catey. Simon and Aiden attended kindergarten together, their dads worked together and their paths intersected often throughout their childhood, as they also grew up attending church together.

Aiden made his decision to attend Grace as a sophomore in high school. He is currently studying exercise science with a concentration in pre-physical therapy, with the goal of applying his degree to the field of athletics.

“As a little kid, I wanted to be the athletic trainer for the Boston Red Sox,” said Aiden. “But then, getting older and going into high school at Warsaw, the strength and conditioning program really interested me. I realized this could actually be a lot of fun to do in the future.”

With an abundance of college credits already, Aiden hopes to pursue an MBA and study abroad while at Grace, just as his mom did. He’s looking forward to forming a Christ-centered community in college.

“I’m really excited for dorm life and having a solid group of guys,” said Aiden. “It’s hard to find a big group of guys who love Jesus.”

When Aiden’s mom, Catey, discovered he would be rooming with Jack Nicodemus, she was pleasantly surprised.

“Carly and David Nicodemus were the cool upperclassmen when I was at Grace,” said Catey. “And so all on his own, when Aiden told us he was going to room with Jack, we were just like, ‘What? That’s amazing! We know his parents and we just loved them!’”

For Jack of Columbus, Ohio, Grace was always his top option.

“Of course, it would have been a dream for Jack to go to Grace, but we never pushed him in that direction,” said his mom, Carly. “Knowing he wanted to go into ministry, we knew it was a safe place to receive solid Biblical teaching that we trusted. However, I wanted him to explore all options before making a decision. His mind, however, was set on Grace from an early age, and he never wavered from that.”

A fifth-generation Grace Lancer, Jack is studying youth ministry and working towards his M.Div. in pastoral studies through Grace Theological Seminary’s five-year accelerated program.

“Growing up, my dad’s always been my youth pastor,” said Jack. “So I look up to him a lot, and over time, I realized, ‘I think I want to do this too.’”

Jack looks forward to his major classes and getting involved with various student organizations and clubs on campus.

Now settled into Beta Hall, the three freshmen are flourishing.

“We’ve already seen Jack thrive while at Grace,” said Carly. “My husband put it well when he said dropping him off was the ‘hardest thing and yet the easiest thing all at the same time.’ Hard, because we knew we were letting him go and wouldn’t be able to see him every day, but easy because we knew it was simply the best place for him, and he was more than ready.”

To learn more about the Christ-centered community at Grace College, visit grace.edu.