This I Know for Sure.

On Monday, February 27th, 2017 my life changed. I had a missed call after leaving our weekly intern meeting that I’ll never forget. I walked up the stairs of Marsh with my close friend Denise and told her “I’m about to find out about the scholarship” and she said good luck and we went our separate ways. I called the number and it rang a few times and then Professor Brown answered. I was nervous. She asked if I was sitting down and I said no. She said I should because I would be the only Buck Scholarship recipient this year. I was completely speechless. I stood on Marsh plaza and all I could do was crouch down and listen to her speak. Tears ran down my cheek and the conversation ended and she said “Congratulations, call me if you need anything.”

I walked around Marsh plaza and tried to regain my composure. I went into the entrance to the BU School of Theology and called my brother. The tears wouldn’t stop flowing. I called my parents and then my sisters and then my grandparents and my girlfriend and then I went back into Marsh. I kneeled at the alter and wept for what felt like eternity. I had envisioned this moment since March of 2015.

I had just received one my last and most coveted acceptance letters, I was accepted to Boston University. I was pumped. I was undecided, but God had guided me into twelve outstanding colleges. My GPA in high school was decent not good. I prided myself on my extracurriculars. My SAT scores were below the BU average and many of the other schools I was accepted to by 300-500 points. My essays were probably by the best thing I submitted. I chose BU because I wanted to be challenged. I passed over schools that gave me significantly more scholarship money and chose the school that gave me zero dollars in aid my first year of college. I don’t come from a family of money. Somehow my parents never let me see struggle, but we were far away from wealthy and I refused to put the burden of paying for college on my parents. I picked the school that would require me to take out a student loan larger than any other school would. It was the biggest risk I had taken in my young life, but I hoped that if I worked hard enough it would pay off.

Monday night it finally did. Monday night, God reassured me of why I chose BU. Monday night I realized it wasn’t about me at all. I was nominated for the Buck Scholarship by my teacher in core, Professor Hamill in early October. I don’t even love core, most days I don’t like it. She asked for my resume with no context and I trusted her and a month later I was told to prepare an application for a scholarship that would cover all my BU expenses. I worked hard on my application over winter break and interviewed with three professors at the start of the school year. My GPA is good not great, I struggled my first semester here. Once again, I’ve relied heavily on my extracurriculars. After my three interviews it was in God’s hands. I waited for a month for a response and finally I was told I would be the only nomination for the Buck Scholarship this school year and that my finances at BU are taken care of.  What Professor Brown didn’t know is how long I’ve waited to hear that. How unsure I’ve been lately about BU and if the financial risk I took to come here was worth it. I kneeled at the alter at Marsh Chapel and cried because as much work as I put in, God did this for me, just like he got me into BU. I honestly, should not be a Boston University student, let alone a full tuition scholarship recipient. But God pushed me to BU. He pushed to stick it out in the core curriculum and placed individuals in my life like Professor Hamill who see more in me than I do in myself.

I knelt on that alter and congratulated God on his achievement. Every action he made was so beautiful. I don’t write this blog to give brag nor boast. This is about my best friend. He’s never left me, not once. He’s been with me the entire time. I remember thinking somehow I’ll get a big scholarship and these student loans won’t be a thing. I told my Dad just you wait I’m gonna get a full ride somehow. I wasn’t a trustee scholar, I received more aid my sophomore year, but nothing that would make a difference. A year ago I didn’t know what the Buck Scholarship was, there’s little information about it. This whole post is a thank you to my guy upstairs that sees something in me that I never have. You’ve done it again. Trust God fully, he works miracles. He’s the smartest person I know. This is my testimony, a reason to celebrate. God is always good, he’s always been real, this I know for sure.

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