As students return to campus, faculty and staff members have again recognized that students are the heart and soul of Crown College. This year, our students have experienced new levels of anxiety as students are facing more financial hardships than ever before. Many families are experiencing job loss, resulting in budgets that just don’t have room for college tuition. Student stories of need are heartbreaking and urgent. Today, we’d like to introduce you to one of our undergraduate students, David.
David is a senior at Crown. He is a Business Administration major and a member of the basketball and track teams. David is actively involved in student leadership and is a Resident Assistant in the dorms. David came back to campus this fall, but because of COVID-19 realities playing out in his family, he found out he was significantly short of making his tuition payment. In desperation, David called his mother, the family’s sole income earner, to ask for her help. That afternoon, David received a notification with a deadline to submit the payment.
David told me, “I was in tears, totally panicked. I was getting things ready for the guys to move onto my dorm floor. I was really looking forward to finishing out my senior year and graduating from Crown, and now I was faced with the thought that I would have to leave!” That night, David prayed to God. “If you want me to stay at Crown, I’m going to need a miracle.”
“If you want me to stay at Crown, I’m going to need a miracle.”
Unbeknownst to David, word got out among the Crown family, and by the next morning, a generous donor came forward who would help David pay for school.
Today, David gets choked up describing God’s provision in his life and his education, and his gratitude is immense. Because of a generous financial donation, David can finish his college education, and he can also serve God through his work as a Resident Assistant and on student leadership this year. It may be years before the kingdom impact of David’s final year at Crown is fully grasped. He will be a proud Crown College alumnus with a powerful testimony of God’s provision, and he will be prepared and equipped to serve God and serve others throughout his lifetime.
As we celebrate 50 years at our Miracle Campus, Crown College continues to honor our commitment to providing a Christ-centered education for all students.
In light of new and increasingly difficult realities in our culture, we feel that God is calling upon Crown College to build a scholarship fund for students facing circumstances like David’s. This would be a fund that is not dependent on grades or a particular major, but based upon need alone. We’re calling this new initiative “Fund the Gap.”
