A FREE EDUCATION OR A LIFE-TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCE? 15 YEARS OF LIFE CHANGE As a parent who has spent three decades investing in the next generation of leaders in nonprofit settings, I knew that paying for college was going to require an incredible sacrifice from our children and my wife and me. In the spring of 2017, my concerns were alleviated when our daughter Breanna received news that she had been chosen as a National Merit Finalist, placing her in the top 2% of students across the nation academically. The weeks that followed brought countless full scholarship offers from universities. As we went from a narrow list of schools to all options being on the table, we prayed together for God’s clear direction. Breanna’s love for science led her to pursue molecular biology, and her first visit was to Cedarville University. I remember the fall of 2007. My husband, Lyle, and eldest child, Emily, had just completed their first campus visit at Cedarville. I had homeschooled our then seven children for the entirety of their education, so the prospect of sending my daughter even just one hour away to school was a bit unsettling. “This school is going to change her life!” my husband excitedly exclaimed when he called me. “I think it’s exactly what she needs! She will thrive at Cedarville!” And she did thrive. There were many tears shed as we dropped our eldest off in the fall of 2008. The ache in my heart over sending my eldest away quickly melted as I watched her grow. New friends, classes, discipleship groups, chapel, residence hall life, it was all new and exciting! Challenges and trials also followed — an F on a paper, a troubled friend in the dorm, sickness, anxiety — but I saw my daughter gather strength to deal with these trials. She received wise counsel from friends and professors, daily chapel that strengthened her spirit, and a deepening knowledge of the Word as she completed her Bible classes. It wasn’t long before we realized we wanted this for all of our children. Over the next 14 years, we were blessed as six more of our children have attended Cedarville. My husband was right; Cedarville did change their lives! When I compare my children’s experiences at Cedarville to my experience at a secular college, I am so thankful. I graduated from college a wounded warrior in need of healing and teaching. My children have been strengthened by their college experiences. They graduated with sound biblical knowledge, a solid worldview, lifelong friendships, and armor ready for the battle. We have been blessed to host hundreds of Cedarville students in our home over the years, so I know our experience has not been unique. These alumni are busy serving the Lord in their designated careers, but many of them are also raising godly families, serving in their churches, and discipling their coworkers. We will always consider Cedarville to be one of the greatest influences on our family, and for that we are deeply grateful. Lyle and Leanna Tomlinson are the parents of Emily (Tomlinson) Freeman ’12, Abby ’14, Luke ’16, William ’19, Jonathan ’21, Caroline (Tomlinson) Kimball ’22, and Charlotte ’26. Lord willing, son Peter will be a freshman in the fall of 2031! 12
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