Inspire, Fall/Winter 2009

advanc ing Cedarv i l le A Gift to Give Away by Carol Lee ’96 A birthday celebration, dinner at a favorite restaurant, and time spent with Cedarville friends — but the best was still to come. Over the years, Julie (Buckley) Macrae ’93 has received some amazing presents from her husband, Doug. But last December, he surprised her with a truly unique birthday gift: the Julie A. Macrae Endowed Scholarship. The couple first inquired about establishing a Cedarville scholarship in 2006 but hadn’t decided how exactly they wanted their gift to make a difference for students. Julie had no idea Doug planned to surprise her by establishing the award in her name. Doug and Julie had given to Cedarville before, though not in this way. They had friends who supported students through scholarships, and Julie loved hearing about the letters and photos they received from their recipients. “They told us how much they enjoyed meeting and encouraging their students, and we knew we wanted to do that, too,” Julie said. On a lovely December evening, out for a birthday dinner with several Cedarville friends, Doug presented Julie with a black leather photo box. She knew immediately the significance of his gift: the box would soon hold notes and photos from Cedarville students helped by this new scholarship. A Gift for the Soul This wasn’t the first meaningful gift Julie had received. In the early 1990s, Julie was a Cedarville student taking out loans, working campus jobs, and struggling to afford college. Her father had left the family, forcing her mother to hold three jobs and raise the children on welfare and food stamps. There would be no “expected family contribution” evidenced on the federal financial aid forms. One of Julie’s campus jobs was cleaning the University’s carpentry shop, where she met Leigh ’54 and Helen Hunt. Leigh, then director of the physical plant and a perennial jokester, soon became a good friend. Helen worked in the same department, and Julie would often stop in after class to say “hello.” These friendly visits turned into invitations to their house. Julie soon found a home away from home. “It meant so much to know they believed in me,” she said. “My father was not in my life, and I had a rocky relationship with my mother. The Hunts’ emotional support made an enormous difference in my life.” Little did she know the Hunts had more in mind. Though they had given financially to University buildings and projects before, they had never given directly to a student. Julie remembers sitting at their dining room table doing homework when the couple sat down on either side of her. They told her they wanted to help her more. The Hunts then invited Julie to live at their house and offered to help with her 26 FALL/WINTER 2009 At a recent birthday dinner, Julie (Buckley) Macrae ’93 opened a gift that keeps on giving — an endowed scholarship to Cedarville students.