Rooted in Relationships

02/20/2026

“I’m very appreciative to the university. A lot of good things that have happened in my life have come as a result of being here and the people here, and the community in general, too,” Stearns said.

Building relationships, skills and a future at Bluffton

When Ethan Stearns, ’23, MBA ’25, first stepped onto Bluffton University’s campus, he came for basketball. “I wanted to keep playing basketball in college,” he said. After visiting several schools, Bluffton quickly rose to the top. “I loved it here, I loved the coaching staff and the people I met. And my family loved it too, so I knew it was the place I wanted to go.”

That decision shaped far more than his college career. It shaped his community, his calling and, ultimately, his return.

Originally from Pataskala, Ohio, Stearns made the most of his time as a Beaver. He earned his bachelor of arts in business and sport management, and two years later, he completed his master of business administration.

But his path wasn’t just defined by classes and credentials. It was defined by people. While working as a student employee in the admissions office, Stearns found mentors and friendships that made Bluffton feel like home.

“I loved working with them,” he said. “It’s about the relationships.”

Those connections influenced his decision to stay for graduate school. Although he had plans to leave Ohio for a graduate assistant coaching role elsewhere, another opportunity and trusted relationships kept him at Bluffton.

“I wanted to stay in Bluffton for a bunch of different reasons. I met Clara (Matthews ’25), and I loved the people here,” he said.

After finishing his degree, Stearns briefly worked for Patriot Concrete, gaining hands-on experience while figuring out his next step. But he knew he wanted to use his education in a more direct way. When an opening for an advancement services manager came up, those same relationships once again guided him back.

“Claire (Kleman ’18, MBA ’20) actually reached out to me about the advancement services manager job,” he said. “She thought of me when the job opened up and reached out. It was a blessing."

Today, Stearns supports Bluffton University’s advancement efforts, managing data, systems and behind-the-scenes processes that help strengthen Bluffton’s connections with alumni and supporters. The work fits both his workflow and his training.

“The most exciting part about it so far is the team. I love the people I’m working with,” he said. “The work itself makes me excited because I’m a very task-oriented person. I can put stuff on a checklist, and it’s stuff that I can remember doing in my master’s degree classes.”

From collecting data to learning databases and communicating across departments, he sees each day as preparation for a long-term dream: owning his own business.

“My end goal is to own my own business someday,” Stearns said. “In this position, I’m doing a lot of stuff: collecting data, learning how to work with different databases, working in Excel, communicating with people. All that stuff I think is great for my skill development and my professional development.”

Still, for Stearns, success isn’t just measured in goals or job titles. It’s measured in relationships, the same thing that first drew him to Bluffton and continues to anchor him here.

That sense of care and connection is what keeps him investing his time and talents back into the place that invested in him.

“The personal relationships with people, developing trust with others, and getting care from people at work and in the community—that’s one of the main things here.”