Josiah’s Big College News…

–As I mentioned ^^ (and in my recent coffee date post,) there is a lot more to this story.  In the past year, in many ways we let go of our dream to send Josiah to California for college, and humbly looked at a host of other options.  During that time he retook his standardized tests, and got serious about prayerfully considering every possible direction for his future (from community college, to scholarship opportunities, and everything in between.)  It’s been a huge growing time for all of us.

And now, his hard work has begun to pay off.  Recently, while he waited to hear back from Westmont, he also found out that he is a finalist for another scholarship — the Hawaii Pacific University “HPU4Hawaii” scholarship.  This one is for local Hawaii residents;  to apply, students look at a problem here in Hawaii, and then come up with a creative solution to that problem.  Applicants turn in a written paper and a video presenting their solution.  Josiah chose a hot topic, did a great job on his video, and now has been chosen as one of 8 finalists!  He will present his solution to a panel next week, and 4 students will be offered a full ride scholarship!  (You can see Josiah’s video presentation HERE. ) If you have spent time on the North Shore of Oahu and experienced our “turtle traffic”, I think you’ll appreciate his idea.  I just love it!  (post-publish UPDATE:  Josiah was chosen as one of 4 winners!!  He was offered a Full-Ride Tuition Scholarship to HPU.  (He did not accept it, but such a great honor!)

There is a lot to love about Hawaii Pacific University.  (It is located at the beautiful Aloha Tower Marketplace on the waterfront in Honolulu.)  HPU is a wonderful school with a diverse, international population, and a great reputation.  Josiah is excited to compete for this scholarship, however, his heart is really set on Westmont at this point, so unless there is some unforeseen change (only God knows) he plans to accept the offer from Westmont and will head to Santa Barbara next summer.  Yay!

I could have never guessed the way things have worked out…which is what has made all of this such an exciting (and torturous!) process.  I also now have a ton of encouragement to pass on to other families through what I have learned.  (hoping to package that up well in my book next year!)

Thank you all so much for sharing in our celebration.  We are overflowing with joy, and I look forward to sharing more of this latest journey.  We have learned so much, and we are truly humbled by God’s goodness and grace.

With Aloha,

Monica