Lutheran Schools Make a Difference

CFNA’s scholarship program expanded moderately this past year, particularly as we took on several preschool children and added a senior from Ethiopia right before the school year began. Fortunately, our donors responded to make it possible to support 25 students, who attended 5 different Lutheran elementary schools and the two Lutheran high schools. 

Only two students graduated this year—one from CCLS and one from Lutheran South. DM said: “I was blessed to go to CCLS and learned the importance of community for sports and academics. Win as one, lose as one, together as one like a tribe and have each other’s back. I also learned the importance of growing in my Christian faith and live it out with confidence. My hope is that others will receive the blessings I received.”  

Unfortunately, Yeron, the Lutheran South graduate, is probably not going to be able to attend university this year. As an international student, she is not eligible for the standard types of financial aid, although several universities have offered her support. Because her mother is a student in the PhD program at Concordia Seminary (on leave from her faculty position at Mekane Yesus Seminary in Addis Abba, Ethiopia), the family’s financial resources are very limited and they don’t meet the universities’ minimum financial capacity for international students. Yeron really hopes to study at an American Christian university, since she attended a Christian school in Ethiopia before transferring to Lutheran South last year. According to her, her experience at Lutheran South was very formative and convinced her of the value of a faith-based university education. She hopes to pursue medical training, planning to be a pediatric surgeon. She is also a gifted artist and writes poetry—in the box is a poem she recently wrote about her life in transition. 

For 2022–23, we have requests to support additional new students. Several are from Nepal, associated with the Nepalese communities at St. John’s and Ascension. Another is a younger sibling of two brothers who transferred to Lutheran North several years ago from Trinity High in North County when it closed. In addition, Word of Life has enrolled two recent immigrant children from the Congo.  

Our ability to support these new students depends on the generosity of our donors, since the dollar-for-dollar match from the Lutheran Foundation can match all the requested scholarships. Please consider making a contribution to the CFNA scholarship fund to provide the kind of opportunity for additional students that made such a difference for DM and Yeron. 

By Dr. Judith Meyer, Coordinator, Scholarship Assistance Ministry