Grace Maxwell, a junior mechanical engineering student with a minor in biomedical engineering at Cedarville University, was among the 67 people who died after a plane crash near Reagan National Airport, according to Cedarville University.
"This is heartbreaking news for her family and for our campus community," the university said in a statement.
The university said Maxwell was returning to campus from her home in Wichita, Kansas.
According to the school, Maxwell was described as a quiet and thoughtful student leader. She helped the mechanical engineering faculty as a grader during her college years.
Dr. Tim Norman, who served as her secondary advisor, said, “Grace was a quiet person with a keen interest in helping others through engineering.”
The university said Maxwell was scheduled to serve on a project team this semester that would begin to create a hand-stabilizing device to help a differently enabled Dayton boy feed himself rather than rely on others.
Cedarville said they asked Maxwell's father what they could do to help.
"He responded that he knew Cedarville was full of praying people and that they would appreciate our prayers. With that in mind, please join [us] in praying for the Maxwell family during the days ahead. Please also remember Grace’s friends and the entire School of Engineering as we mourn her loss," the school said.
The university said they would share details with the Cedarville community once they learned more about Maxwell's arrangements.
Cedarville also said Counseling Services staff is on standby for students who need their services, and members of its Student Life and Christian Ministries team will be in the school's chapel Friday afternoon for those who wish to pray, reflect, and talk throughout the day.
Maxwell was not the only person on the plane with ties to Ohio.
Cincinnati native Elizabeth Anne Keys, 33, who worked as an attorney in D.C., was also confirmed as one of the 67 aboard the commercial plane, according to WCPO 9 News.
Wilkinson Stekloff confirmed to WCPO that Keys was on American Eagle Flight 5342 with service from Wichita, Kansas, to D.C. alongside another attorney at the firm.
