Two of Maxwell’s friends and hallmates, Aspen Schiebout and Riley Blair, grew emotional while sharing how they learned of her death.
“We first heard from her roommate and the RD of our dorm,” Schiebout said. “They told us that they had an emergency meeting ... We thought like maybe we were in trouble for something ... then they got there, and they said, there’s no easy way to tell you this, but that big plane crash, Grace was on the flight, and she didn’t make it.”
That night, the girls in that unit got together, made chili, and stayed up talking about their hallmate and sharing their favorite memories of Maxwell.
“We had game nights every Sunday at 5 p.m., and she was always the first person there,” Blair said. “She could just play games with us for hours if we let her. She loved it so much, and that’s one of my favorite memories of her.”
Maxwell had been on the first leg of a trip back to Cedarville, returning from her grandfather’s funeral in Wichita.
Cedarville University President Thomas White also grew emotional as he addressed the student body Friday morning, asking students to gather around the stage and fill the aisles for prayer.
“Can you imagine losing a parent, and seven days later losing a child?” he said.
Maxwell is the second Cedarville University student to have died in a span of five weeks. Members of the worship band, who played during the service honoring Maxwell, had lost one of their members in a car crash on Dec. 16.
“We grieve, and we’re sad, and we don’t know why a young, bright, shining star was taken from us way too soon,” White said. “But we know there’s a God that will make all things new. So we grieve, but not as ones without hope.”
Counseling services were available for students in the chapel at Cedarville University for the rest of Friday afternoon, and the university’s counseling services will continue to be available to students who are mourning the death of their classmate, university leadership said.
Maxwell was among 60 passengers and 4 crew members aboard the Wichita-to-D.C. flight, operated by PSA for American Airlines. All of them died, as did the three people in the Army helicopter that crashed into the plane. The crash remains under investigation.
Cincinnati woman died in crash
Also killed in the crash was a Madeira High School graduate who worked as an attorney in D.C., according to WCPO.
Cincinnati native Elizabeth Anne Keys, 33, was valedictorian of her high school class before attending Tufts University and Georgetown University Law Center. Her family said Keys worked at Wilkinson Stekloff, a law firm with offices in D.C., at the time of her death.
Wilkinson Stekloff confirmed to WCPO that Keys was on American Eagle Flight 5342 alongside another attorney at the firm. Her partner, David Seidman, said she was on a work trip at the time of the crash.
“Beyond being an excellent lawyer, Liz brought fearlessness, humor, and sharp wit to work every day no matter the setting or circumstances,” Wilkinson Stekloff said in a statement.
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