The Nicholses Invested in Community and Home

James and Amanda Nichols believe that sending their children to Providence Day School means the entire family — not just their children Colter and Sutton — need to embrace the school community. Today, their pride for the PDS community keeps them in Charlotte, even after James took a job out of the state four years ago.

“Besides our house, [Providence Day School] is probably the place we spend the second most amount of time as a family, so in a way it’s a part of our lives as much as it is the kids’,” said Amanda.

James and Amanda cite the powerful community wrapped around the TK-12 experience at PDS as one of the biggest reasons they decided not to relocate with James’s job. Instead, James commutes out of state.

“It’s the strongest community that we are a part of,” said James. “It’s our second home.”

From the day of James and Amanda’s first tour of PDS, Amanda felt connected to the campus community when they heard a panel of students talking in the auditorium.

“There were students who had been there since Kindergarten and students who had been there just since high school,” said Amanda. “They were sophisticated and intelligent, yet down-to-earth, at the same time.”

At that time, Amanda said that she could visualize her 5-year-old, many years in the future, as one of those students about to go to college.

For James, his first Back to School night stands out as a moment that initiated his connection to the PDS community.

“I was amazed by the kids’ classrooms, with walls full of incredible learning resources, even for kindergarteners,” said James. “The teacher was so motivated and energized as she spoke about all the artifacts on the wall and the exciting things they were going to do in her class that year.”

So, when the Nichols heard whisperings of the CHARGING forward campaign, they were eager to participate. They wanted to not only nurture the community that they experience at Providence Day, but also preserve and prepare it for the next generation of Chargers.

The Nichols made an original commitment to the campaign of $35,000 and less than six months later, decided to augment their gift by $15,000 for a total commitment of $50,000.

“We knew without a doubt that we would contribute just because of the strong feeling we have for the school, the community, the leadership, and most importantly, the teachers,” said James.

They liked the idea of helping to foster an environment that their children can be proud of after they graduate from the school. Amanda said that a contribution to the campaign is a continuation of the support and interest that they put into their kids. James agrees, saying that the more families put into the campaign, the more they will get out of the entire PDS experience.

“I would like everybody to give, no matter what they can give,” said Amanda. “Just to give something would…show we are a community that can come together.”

James and Amanda are the proud parents of Colter ’21 and Sutton ’23.