"When I came to Lipscomb, I came prepared to rack up the student loan bills I would get for graduating at such an amazing Christian college. Never did I imagine that I would receive so much help from a group of ladies who truly serve the Lord and try their hardest to keep student loans down for students such as me. I know what it is like to come from a family who doesn't have a lot of money, whose parents got married young and weren't able to set up a college fund for their children...I hope God continues to bless your organization and the work you do, because the thanks that I feel is beyond words and I know many students in the future will feel the same way."

~ A.W.L. Scholarship Recipient

A Starfish Story
As read by an A.W.L. scholarship recipient, in thanks to the members of A.W.L.
Adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren Eiseley

A vacationing businessman was walking along a beach when he saw a young boy. Along the shore were many starfish that had been washed up by the tide and were sure to die before the tide returned. The boy was walking slowly along the shore and occasionally reached down and tossed a beached starfish back into the ocean. The businessman, hoping to teach the boy a little lesson in common sense, walked up to the boy and said, "I have been watching what you are doing, son. You have a good heart, and I know you mean well, but do you realize how many beaches there are around here and how many starfish are dying on every beach every day? Surely, such an industrious and kindhearted boy such as yourself could find something better to do with your time. Do you really think that what you are doing is going to make a difference?" The boy looked up at that man, and then he looked down at a starfish by his feet. He picked up the starfish, and as he gently tossed it back into the ocean, he said, "It makes a difference to that one."

"If it weren't for the renewable scholarship given me by the Associated Women for Lipscomb I wouldn't have been able to attend LU. Lipscomb played an important role in shaping my faith. I'm grateful to have been an A.W.L. starfish."

~ 2002 Lipscomb Graduate and recipient of the
Williamson County (TN) chapter A.W.L. scholarship