Campus Outreach at UVA is grieved by the loss of our friend, Nico Ramos-Esteban. A first year at UVA, we were blessed to meet Nico at the beginning of the fall semester. Nico quickly got involved in a weekly Bible Study with Campus Outreach and he was always excited to dive into God’s Word. His desire to know the Lord, follow after him and share his faith with others was unique and a tremendous encouragement to the CO community. Particularly, Nico was known for the way he treated others. Many remember Nico for seeing, caring and putting others above himself. He leaves behind a legacy of a bright smile and a presence that lifted the spirits of everyone he surrounded.

Over the past week, it has been a tremendous privilege to be invited into Nico’s community as spiritual support. We have been blessed by the opportunity to pray, lead Bible Studies, and provide meals for family and friends. We have been so encouraged to see how many people cherished Nico and, just as Nico was there for others, it has been an incredible blessing to see his family and friends gather together for days on end to support, pray, care, and be there for Nico.

As we grieve Nico’s death, we also cling to the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 4: “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.  For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

We grieve, but we grieve with hope due to Nico’s faith in Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord.

Campus Outreach at UVA will continue to offer support and resources to anyone in need. We will be praying for Nico’s friends during Spring Break and we hope to see many upon their return to UVA.

For the family, we will be fundraising support for all the financial expenses associated with Nico’s illness and death. We ask that you would prayerfully donate to this at the link below.

We also ask that everyone in the Campus Outreach at UVA community keep Nico’s family, friends, fraternity and community in prayer.

Rest in Peace, Nico. It was an honor to know you and to see your faith in Jesus grow. May your legacy of love and faith live on forever at UVA.

UVA Memorial Service

On March 19, 2025, we were blessed to come together with thousands of Nico’s friends, family and classmates to honor and commemorate his life. Students shared memories of Nico and the lasting impact he had on their lives. At the end of the service, Nico’s father led the entire crowd in a “NICO!” chant and his friends led everyone in “The Good Old Song.” We pray that this service will have a lasting impact on the many who were in attendance and we praise God for the many ways He was glorified at this service. Links to the livestream video, pictures and a Channel 29 News Article are posted at the bottom.