2026 CCCU Young Alumni Award Winner Announced

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) — The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities today announced that Lucas Fonseca—the founder of Language Matters, a research, consulting, translation and language-learning services business— has been named the 2026 CCCU Young Alumni Award winner. Fonseca is a 2020 graduate of Grace College in Winona Lake, IN. The award will be presented on January 31, 2026, as part of the CCCU’s International Forum in Dallas, Texas. 

“Lucas exemplifies the impact Christian higher education provides to students around the globe,” said Dr. David A. Hoag, president of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities. “What began as a simple opportunity to help break down language barriers as a student at Grace has grown into a regional service assisting individuals, families and businesses and demonstrates the commitment Lucas has to serving his neighbor and the Lord.” 

“Lucas represents the best of Grace College,” said Dr. Drew Flamm, president of Grace College. “His commitment to faith, learning and service reflects the mission we share across Christian higher education. Stories like his remind us that when students thrive in Christ, their influence reaches far beyond our campus” 

As an international student from Chile, Lucas came to Grace College as a freshman in 2016 seeking to major in entrepreneurial management. He saw firsthand that English tutoring was only helping meet a portion of a larger structural gap that was being felt my many in local and surrounding communities.  

Ironically the COVID-19 pandemic helped expose some of those gaps, and as a recent graduate, Lucas and his team were able to step and provide numerous services to assist municipalities by providing translation services and establishing cultural awareness trainings. Language Matters has grown continuously since 2020, serving communities across the state of Indiana. Lucas has been recognized regionally for his work with Rising Leader and Who’s Who awards, as well as testifying before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to continue to shine a light on the importance of cultural awareness and trainings in local communities. 

“Being recognized with the CCCU Young Alumni Award is a tremendous honor and especially meaningful to me,” Fonseca said. “It highlights the heart of our organization (Language Matters) — to create opportunity, affirm dignity, and ignite hope, just as the Lord has done for each of us. 

At Grace College I found a place where passion for service meets conviction, and that platform has allowed our team to transform the way non-English speakers experience their own communities.” 

The Young Alumni Award honors an individual who graduated from a CCCU member institution within the past decade and whose work demonstrates uncommon leadership or success that reflects the values of Christian higher education. Previous recipients include Cydney Bridges (Huntington University), an intensive care pediatric nurse and second runner-up in the 2024 Miss America pageant; Lindy Wiliamson Cleveland (Samford University), founder of Unless U; Wendy Gomez Matamoros (Dordt University), an executive director of Nicaraguan-based nonprofit Tesoros de Dios. Read more about these and other past winners here. 

In addition to awarding Fonseca with the Young Alumni Award, the CCCU recognized two individuals as runners-up. Spencer Dusebout, a graduate of Westmont College, helped co-found the clean water initiative Hands4Others (H4O). This project has been able to provide more than 250,000 people across 17 countries access to clean water, while also sharing the Gospel of Jesus. 

The CCCU also recognized Olivia Sander, a graduate of Spring Arbor University, as another runner-up. Sanders is the founder of The Way Coffee Co. This coffee shop nonprofit is an instructional program committed to providing a meaningful curriculum and employment experience for young adults with learning differences. You can learn more about this impactful ministry by watching an overview video of their mission here. 

All media inquiries regarding the CCCU Young Alumni Award should be directed to media@cccu.org.  

About the CCCU 

The Council for Christian Colleges & Universities is a higher education association of more than 170 Christian institutions around the world. Since 1976, the CCCU has served as the leading voice of Christian higher education. With campuses across the globe, including more than 130 in the U.S. and Canada and more than 30 from an additional 18 countries, CCCU institutions are accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities whose missions are Christ-centered and rooted in the historic Christian faith. Most also have curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. The CCCU’s mission is to advance the cause of Christ-centered higher education and to help our institutions transform lives by faithfully relating scholarship and service to biblical truth.  

About Grace College 

Grace College is an accredited, Christ-centered institution of higher education located in the picturesque lakeside town of Winona Lake, Ind.  Affiliated with Charis Fellowship, Grace College was founded in 1948.  Today Grace offers more than 100 majors, minors, certificates and graduate programs through both on-campus and online delivery methods. Nearly all Grace College bachelor’s degrees can be completed in three years, and students can earn a bachelor’s and master’s in four total years through an accelerated degree program. Grace also has a ministry training center in Akron, Ohio. For more information, visit www.grace.edu. 

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