Combining several career interests including business, education, and public affairs, Grace Wigton Grant, Wittenberg class of 2007, credits her college experience, internships, and campus involvement in leading to her current career with Gamma Iota Sigma (GIS) where she has become an industry and nonprofit leader.
While at Wittenberg, Grant, originally from Worthington, Ohio, gained invaluable experience in her internship opportunities working at a local law firm, at the Columbus Credit Bureau in its legal department, in the Wittenberg Center of Applied Management, with the Wittenberg intramural department, and as a tour guide in the Office of Admission. She graduated from Wittenberg with a degree in management with a pre-law concentration.
“Upon graduation from Wittenberg, I had my heart set on figuring out how to combine my interests while also being able to prioritize the things that matter most to me like my faith, my family, and having time to give back to my community,” said Grant, who played softball for four years at Wittenberg, was a two-time captain, and was involved in the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and the Athletes in Action student ministry.
“My interests led me to pursue my master of educational leadership while working at the Griffith Insurance Education Foundation where I ultimately became the director of public policymaker education,” she continued. “In that role, I spent time in Washington, D.C., providing federal and state legislators with educational training to inform their decisions around policies impacting the insurance industry. This experience exposed me to the breadth and depth of the risk management and insurance industry, along with the opportunity to build an expansive network of academics and industry professionals.”
In 2013, Grant joined Gamma Iota Sigma (GIS) as the director of collegiate chapter services. Growing through the organization over the past decade, she became its executive director in 2020. GIS is a nonprofit organization that works alongside the insurance industry to promote and sustain collegiate student interest in careers in insurance, risk management, and actuarial science. The organization has provided Grant the unique opportunity to combine all her interests of business, education, and public affairs.
“As the executive director, I work closely with leaders across the insurance industry to inform their talent and recruiting strategies,” she said. “We have 109 collegiate chapters, 6,000 collegiate members, over 150 corporate partners, and 35,000 alumni working in various roles across risk management, insurance, and actuarial science careers. I have enjoyed learning the complexities of an industry that is oftentimes serving people in moments of crisis and need. Wittenberg set a strong foundation for encouraging a mindset of curiosity and lifelong learning. This foundation has benefited me tremendously throughout my career.”
One of several in her family to graduate from Wittenberg including her dad, aunt, and sister, Grant now resides in Powell, Ohio, with her husband (a 2009 Wittenberg grad) and their five children. She has found her path in life and has received several honors within the insurance industry, including being named among the 2021 Elite Women of the Year, the 2022 Hot 100, and the top 100 industry leaders across the country.
“While I have learned a great deal from the senior leaders across the industry, perhaps I have learned the most from our student members, particularly this next generation of students who continue to challenge the status quo as it relates to technology, innovation, corporate culture, ESG, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and more,” she said. “GIS university partners span across 40 states with 35 percent of its student members coming from underrepresented or marginalized groups, along with nine percent international students. GIS spoke directly to underrepresented groups through a series of roundtable discussions at HBCU’s (historically black colleges and universities), HSI's (Hispanic serving institutions), women’s colleges, and community colleges to learn how they could better support and equip students from all backgrounds.
“We expanded our growth strategy to focus on strategic university engagement and engaging the industry and university partners to learn from one another,” Grant continued. “In 2021, we launched a program called Allies in Insurance where students and industry can engage in conversations around various DEI topics to support self-awareness while expanding their understanding of their peers including topics like active allyship, cross-cultural mentorship, moving from checking the box to inclusion, unconscious bias, neurodiversity, authenticity in the workplace, accessibility, and mental wellness. These discussions created a space for authentic interactions between students and industry leaders, ultimately impacting the entire industry’s perspectives on DEI.”
In 2023, under Grant’s leadership, the GIS Foundation was established and serves a mission of ensuring equitable access to careers in insurance, risk management, and actuarial science by lowering the social and financial barriers for all students, through an emphasis on mental health and wellness, accessibility, university support, and professional development.
“With an initial fundraising campaign of $500,000, we were able to award 56 professional attire scholarships, 55 travel scholarships, two chapter expansion grants, and eight university development grants,” Grant said. “The foundation will transform the way we can support students of all backgrounds for years to come.
“Wittenberg instilled a great sense of community and encouraged me to consistently challenge my own beliefs and find ways to support those around me. It’s both humbling and inspiring to have the opportunity to impact the lives of thousands of college students across the country knowing how important and transformative my college days were for me.”
Because of those who attended Wittenberg before her, the University has always held a special place in her heart.
“I had always known about Wittenberg from a young age,” Grant said. “Stepping onto campus always felt right, and it allowed me to continue to expand both my athletic and academic careers. The liberal arts education gave me a great foundation for critical thinking that has unquestionably benefited me throughout my life and career. The close-knit community Wittenberg affords led to exceptional academic experiences with faculty members, a second family through athletic experiences, and a lifelong connection to fellow Wittenberg alumni.”
Beyond her professional career, Grant is active in her local community through volunteerism. She saw that there was a need for more athletic opportunities for young female athletes in her community, so she launched a local softball Little League serving as the commissioner for three years and currently serves on the board of a travel softball program. She has coached numerous teams for her children and recently served as the co-president of the PTO at their elementary school. She carries the desire to give back into her career serving on the WSIA Board of Directors, the Samford University RMI Advisory Board, and various committees across the industry.
“I believe that my experiences at Wittenberg also instilled in me the desire to be a lifelong learner and servant leader,” she added. “My experiences on and off campus, both athletically and academically, encouraged a strong work ethic and sense of community. Those experiences have contributed to my passion for service and giving back. Wittenberg gave me the opportunity to be involved in a lot of different things which allowed me to pursue a career path I am passionate about while also staying true to the things that matter to me most like my faith, my family, and serving my community and for that I am forever grateful for my time as a Wittenberg Tiger.”
