Sometimes in order to fully appreciate what Cincinnati Christian University has given me, I have to go back and remember how I got here in the first place. I'm a first-generation college student. I knew early on in high school that I wanted to earn a college education someday, but as time went on I began to realize that with my financial situation... a college education was going to be impossible. Thankfully, my hope is built in something, or rather, Someone bigger than my financial situation.
Spoiler alert: Even the word impossible boasts, "I'm possible."
Circumstances went south my junior year of high school. Way south. Things began looking up finally when my mother accepted a job position at the University of Cincinnati, which after 2 years, would have offered me tuition remission. At the time I felt called to study music education so this seemed perfect. I thought that surely this was God providing a way for me to go to college. Well, not too long after, UC took a big hit from the economic crisis and my mother's job position was terminated as a result.
I tried to remain hopeful. Senior year rolled around and I was in a new school. I attended an informational meeting hosted by Berea College just because it was something to do. I asked a question (can't even remember what the question was) and left. About a week or so later my guidance counselor randomly called me down to his office to tell me that someone from Berea wanted to speak with me. They wanted to invite into a scholarship program. A scholarship program. This was it. I just knew it. I went to every interview, turned in every application, and wrote every essay. This was the chance God was giving me and I had to do everything I could to take it.
Two weeks later I received a letter in the mail. A rejection letter. It hurt, a lot.
This was when I lost hope. I stopped turning in homework, I stopped studying for tests... I pretty much gave up everything. But there was one thing I gave up that I think ultimately lead to where I am today. One day I was pacing around my house worrying myself sick over the fact that I wasn't going to go to college. Then, out of nowhere, I just stopped in my tracks and said, "God, take this." I don't even know why I said it. It just sort of happened.
I gave up control.
One evening my youth pastor came to me and asked if I ever considered going to Cincinnati Christian University. Actually, I had never even heard of it. He gave me an application for something called the Charles and Penny Faust Urban Scholars Program, a program that offers a full scholarship to first-generation Christian leaders who otherwise would have no way of affording a college education. I didn't have anything to lose at that point so I went ahead and filled it out and turned it in. Next thing I knew, I was asked to come in for an interview. It was my first time being on campus. Something about it was strikingly beautiful to me. I don't know if it was the color of the roof on the Chapel, the view of the city, or something else. It was just beautiful.
The interview went well and I was feeling somewhat hopeful again. Maybe this was where God wanted me to be. I was granted acceptance into the school, so that was a plus. At least I was accepted somewhere. The scary part was that if I didn't get into the scholarship program, I would then have to be the one to reject CCU. Funny how life turns the tables on you sometimes.
One afternoon, around 4 o'clock, the phone rang. It was CCU. When I answered the phone, my heart was sinking.
When I hung up, I was officially an Urban Scholar and a student of Cincinnati Christian University.
The next several months were like a whirlwind, but a good one. On the very first day of orientation I met 3 people who I now and forever will hold in my heart as some of the dearest friends in my life. In fact, one day I was out with them running errands to who knows where when suddenly I thought to myself, "I am happy." The thought itself caught me off guard. I couldn't remember the last time I had honestly been able to say that.
So here I am today, a once hopeless, broken down high school student with only a dream turned soon-to-be college graduate. If my last 23 credit hours don't kill me, I'll have a college degree in 82 days.
None of this would have been possible if CCU had not been willing to take a chance and invest something in me. The truth is that CCU is investing in us each and every single day. The professors aren't here to stand up and lecture, get paid and then go home. They've spent their entire lives gaining knowledge and wisdom in the fields that they love and are now pouring that knowledge and wisdom into us. Too often I hear about how certain professors are out to get certain students because they critique their papers too harshly. Every time I see a stroke of red ink on a paper, I am overwhelmed by the thought that someone who could be exploring the land of Israel, or writing the history textbook they've felt called to write for years and years, is taking the time to help me reach my own dreams and goals. It has been said that a coach will be hardest on their star athlete. Likewise, our professors care about us too much to not help us reach our fullest potential. So maybe next time you see red ink on your paper, consider it as a mark of care and concern instead of a mark of punishment or disapproval.
The faculty and staff at CCU care about us so much. The fact that our former President built his house on our campus and spends his lunch hours eating with the students, asking about their day, and showing us by example how to live out our Christian walks day in and day out is just mind boggling to me. Our new President has spent his first days of office personally asking students what they want him to do for them. The professors are with us when we marry our spouses and again when we lay our loved ones to rest. They step out of the role of educator and into the role of friend, and let me tell you... that is an unpaid position.
And if that wasn't enough, CCU provides us with daily opportunities to draw closer to God, the single most important thing we can possibly do. Chapel is amazing. I often wonder how God feels knowing that on a hilltop in Cincinnati, there are hundreds of people gathered to worship His name early on Tuesday mornings. We are given a prayer room for the times that we just have to get away and be with no one else but the Lord. We are held to a higher standard than many other colleges as far as our conduct is concerned, but that standard is there to ensure that we are respected as Christian brothers and sisters and so that the Holy Spirit might shine through us in the way that we live, both on and off campus. That is care. CCU cares about how many times you attend a corporate worship services because the Bible stresses how important it is, and so multiple opportunities are given to us to do so. CCU cares about your prayer life and your alone time with God because that's how you are going to be fed spiritually, and therefore, they provide us with a space to do that.
Maybe this is more of a letter about CCU than it is to CCU. I just can't think of a better place for me to draw closer to God, make friendships and memories, and to learn about the world around me, and I wanted to share my thoughts and appreciation for this school before my time here comes to an end. Though, in all honesty, I hope that somehow, someway, my future will be related to CCU, whether directly or indirectly. The Lord has blessed me so much through this place. I cannot imagine where my life would be without Cincinnati Christian University.
Thank you, CCU.
