Vicki and Daryl Nicholson are known for their generosity and their willingness to invest in other people. Daryl has owned and operated numerous successful businesses and invested in many more, especially businesses related to real estate and development. He has also held many civic positions, including serving as the mayor of Porterville, and as a trustee and foundation member at PLNU. A physical education major and basketball player, Daryl is part of the PLNU Athletic Hall of Fame. Vicki, a home economics major, has not only supported Daryl’s work but also taught, raised children, and mentored other women through church and MOPs. Because of Daryl and Vicki’s generous contributions to the capital campaign, Nicholson Commons was opened in November of 1997. They were also deeply involved in helping PLNU obtain and purchase the Liberty Station Conference Center. The Nicholsons offer their time and support to the university, alumni, students, PLNU athletes, members of the Porterville Church of the Nazarene, and friends and family – all as a response to God and His blessings to them.
What is the impact you’d like to make on the world?
Vicki: In my years of mentoring mothers of young children, and leading women's Bible studies, the message was 'to love God, to love their husbands and their children... and to set an example of what is good for the sake of the gospel of Christ" (Titus 2:4,5). My continued hope and prayer is that those same principles have been taught to their children and their children's children, thus making an eternal impact in their spheres of influence, while, ultimately, impacting the world for Good.
Daryl: As a young man, a good friend and PLNU alum shared Theodore Roosevelt famous quote with me… “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat”. It made a significant impact on me, and on another’s, as God has allowed me to share our lives and testimony with young business people!