Inspire, Spring 2001

Richard and Mary Olsen Scholarship 20 Spring 2001 A Burden for Students Marsha Olsen ’93 writes of how the Richard and Mary Olsen Scholarship (named for her parents) was established. M y parents were wise, talented, and compassionate. They used their interests, hobbies, and skills to touch many lives in our extended family, in our church, in the scientific community where they worked, and in the neighborhood where we lived. I think that perhaps their greatest [combined] spiritual gift was that of mercy. Our home always had an open door. Hundreds (perhaps thousands) dined at my mother’s table: visiting scientists from abroad, missionaries on furlough, and mere acquaintances going to the Mayo Clinic all found free room and board in our home. My parents believed in meeting real needs. One student employed during the summer at the Mayo Clinic was offered a job after her graduation. However, she said she would not be able to accept the job because she had to move out of her home the day she graduated, and she did not have the money to rent an apartment. My parents called her, and she lived with them for the first two months of her employment while she looked for a place to live. A high school classmate of my brother’s wanted to go to college and study veterinary medicine. For his first year of college, he lived in our home and attended the local community college. Today, he is a veterinarian. These are only a few examples of how my parents would step alongside another person and truly help them. When I talked to my father about these people, he said that he considered it a privilege to be able to identify an area of need and meet it. He did not believe he could save the world, but he knew that as time passed he would have opportunities to make a difference in individuals. My brother, Lowell ’91, and I were priority number one on our parents’ list of those they wanted to help, guide, and disciple. With the help of their guidance and advice, my brother and I both left Minnesota for Cedarville in the fall of 1989. Over the course of our combined six years at the ’Ville, my brother and I made many lifelong friends. My parents met only a handful of those friends in person; however, they were deeply impressed with the difference those friends made in our lives. Unknown to my brother and me, the Holy Spirit was working on our parents’ hearts when we would talk to them about our friends. My senior year, one of my best friends was a junior. Like many students, paying for college was a struggle for her. She really wanted to graduate without debt because her desire was to go to seminary and then on to the mission field. Over the summer months, my friend was concerned that her finances were not sufficient to pay for her final year at Cedarville. She told me that she was contemplating sitting out a term so that she could work full-time and earn the money to finish her degree. The idea saddened me, and I shared it with my parents. Some time later, my father called me. Being rather “to the point,” he asked me if I knew how much money my friend needed to be able to finish the year. I wasn’t sure and he asked me if I would try to find out. He wanted me to call my friend and tell her that he would pay whatever she could not for her senior year. After my friend graduated from Cedarville, my parents requested information on establishing a scholarship. My father knew that most students who drop out of school for financial reasons seldom finish, and this was the burden he shared with my mother. Five months later, my mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Knowing that she would not live long, my mother said that she wanted to give a portion of her estate to Cedarville so that the institution could establish a scholarship to help upperclassmen finish their undergraduate degrees. With the initial gift from my mother’s estate, the scholarship fund was established, and my father intended to add to the principal over time. My mother passed away on February 6, 1995, and, unfortunately, my father would not live long enough to see the students who would benefit from the contributions he and my mother made. In May of 1996, he, too, was diagnosed with cancer, and on September 17, 1996, he went home to be with the Lord. It has been a joy for my brother and me to see that even after their deaths, my parents are helping young people complete their education. Best of all, it is exciting to be able to see the faces of the recipients and imagine how God will use them in this world. We know our parents would have been pleased as well as humbled by the extent that God has used them. The stories of the scholarship recipients and the letters we receive from them are treasures we hold dear because they are part of the legacy of generosity and faithfulness left us by our parents. Marsha Olsen ’93 (standing) with parents Richard and Mary Olsen and brother Lowell ’91