Inspire, Fall/Winter 2008

26 fall/winter 2008 advanc ing cedarv i l le The Best Gifts Really Can Come in Small Packages isa Meharry ’81 doesn’t consider herself extraordinary. In fact, she would be the first to humbly point out that Cedarville has hundreds, probably thousands, of alumni just like her. Anyone could do what Lisa does. You could do what Lisa does. But that doesn’t make what she does any less inspiring. Since graduating from Cedarville with a major in music education, she has never missed an opportunity to give back financially to Cedarville. For 28 years Lisa’s faithful monthly gifts have been a quiet force in the lives of students, encouraging them on their journey. It’s not that she gives out of excess — after 20 years as a Christian school music teacher and seven more in local church ministry, Lisa is still waiting on her first million. But one day she read a letter about Cedarville students who hoped to accomplish big things for Christ but needed assistance to get there. Lisa recognized herself in their stories and was moved to help. “My first job as a graduate assistant paid $3,600 a year,” she recalled. “I was not able to give much, but my time at Cedarville was one of the most important in my life. It only made sense to do something to provide that opportunity for others.” Nearly three decades later, the memory of her college experience energizes Lisa’s giving. “The faculty at Cedarville made an impression on me,” she said. “They were involved in students’ lives. The music department was large enough to offer some outstanding opportunities, but it was small enough that I could witness the quality of my professors’ faith in their daily lives.” The authentic faith Lisa encountered was not limited to the classroom. She found it during late-night conversations with friends in Maddox Hall and while baking cookies in “Ma” Printy’s apartment. She found it in chapel where the “college family” metaphor was lived out and the president’s Monday messages were “worth the price of admission.” She finds it today when she returns for homecoming and is greeted by favorite faculty who remember her name and take an interest in her life. L by Carol Lee ’96