Rashional Thoughts: Congrats to upcoming Class of 2019 graduates — you did it! For ministry-related underclassmen scholarships are available

Rashional Thoughts: Congrats to upcoming Class of 2019 graduates — you did it! For ministry-related underclassmen scholarships are available

Graduation cards and gifts have been on the shopping list this month. Several friends are prepping for their children’s upcoming graduations.  

Two staff members at The Alabama Baptist are about to become empty nesters as their college kids receive their diplomas. And one staff member is helping her high school senior prepare to enter college.

Every dollar counts

Alongside all the excitement about graduation comes the conversations about how to pay for or now pay off college expenses.

I remember wrapping up college and being so thankful for the scholarship money I was able to piece together to cover tuition, books, etc.

Every scholarship dollar makes a difference and some scholarships are available that many people miss.

For instance, in Alabama Baptist life, if a student plans to enter a church-related vocation and attend one of the Alabama Baptist colleges scholarships are available for them. 

One of those scholarship opportunities is provided by the Board of Aid for Students in Church Related Vocations.

The goal of the Board of Aid is to award scholarship aid amounting to at least 12.5 percent of tuition.

To qualify for aid students must be an Alabama resident and actively involved in an Alabama Baptist church. From there students are asked to fill out an application with information related to need, income, indebtedness, etc. 

Along with the application qualifying students will need a recommendation letter from their home church and a letter of testimony. The letter of testimony should detail the student’s personal calling to a church-related vocation. Students are interviewed each semester by Board of Aid members during the institution’s registration process. 

For more information contact Bonnie Bailey at the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions at 800-264-1225, ext. 233 or bbailey@alsbom.org.