Nov. 3 and 4 were our Endowed Scholarship Luncheons. We had more than 90 donors and 200-plus students for lunch and sharing. The donors met the students their endowment supported. Students, hopefully, learned that financial aid doesn’t come from an ATM or a benign being but from a real person who truly is interested in their success in life.
What was more remarkable for the students was that a number of our donors were 90 years of age including one who is turning 99 in December. To a 99 year old, seeing the difference their endowment makes in the life of a family and specifically for a student, shows they are making a difference — and that is what is critical for them. Imagine what they have seen and heard and learned in their lives!
I think about my father who left his home in Canada to enroll at the Concordia Lutheran High School in 1939. He wanted to be a Lutheran pastor just like his father and this was the start for him. He is now more than 90 and still remembers his classmates and professors from those years at Concordia and at Concordia College before he went to St. Louis to the Seminary.
Each of us is here for a reason. Each of us is here to make a difference as children of God. Each of us has the opportunity to serve and demonstrate our faith every day. I pray that the model of these 90-plus year old people continue to inspire me.
John Schoedel
Chief Development Officer
Check out photos from our Scholarship Luncheon on Facebook.