Mount Olive College hosts luncheon for scholarship recipients, donors
By From staff reports
Published in News on April 7, 2010 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Mount Olive College held its annual Scholarship Luncheon on March 25 to give students an opportunity to meet and thank the benefactors who help support their educational goals.
Donor Margaret Ard of Pink Hill feels it is important to give to Mount Olive College for several reasons.
"I give to Mount Olive College because I love to help worthy students, who might not otherwise have the opportunity to reach their potential," she said.
Mrs. Ard, who attends Bethlehem Free Will Baptist Church in Fountain Town, also believes in supporting the college because nearly a dozen of her family members have graduated from the institution, including her husband and her son.
"It is rewarding for donors to see the fruits of their gifts, and that is exactly what this event is about," donor Earl Worley said. "It is a great time to connect with students and reconnect with former faculty and friends."
Worley supports the Irene Sain Patten Endowed Scholarship Fund, established for his former professor, who also directed the Mount Olive College Singers.
The luncheon included a vocal salute to donors by scholarship recipient Adam Brown, who sang "You Raise Me Up." Brown was accompanied by Mount Olive College Alumnus and Donor Tom Casey from the Class of 2000.
Scholarship recipient Kelli Kosuda thanked those in attendance for their continued support of the college and its students.
"I'm from the South, so I'm going to give a southern example -- sweet tea," she said. "Tea bags, water and sugar don't do much by themselves, but heating the water, steeping the tea bags, and adding the right amounts of sugar can work wonders. Mount Olive College is a lot like sweet tea. Your monetary gifts, your presence here today, your prayers, your services, your encouragement -- together, they are all essential to the continuing success of this college. You are helping to change and transform each life that encounters Mount Olive College."
During the 2009-10 academic year, Mount Olive College has awarded 695 scholarships totaling more than $4 million in institutional aid to students.
College President Dr. Philip P. Kerstetter thanked the donors.
"Thank you donors. Because you have been generous in your giving, students have had opportunities that they would not have had otherwise," he said. "To you students, I would like for you to use these opportunities wisely and remember your positive experiences when it is your turn to plant the seeds for tomorrow."