For three decades, Johnson Scholarships have enabled students to pursue their God-sized dreams.
Gabriella Winters, a senior studying marketing, co-led a service trip to South Africa this summer. She plans to graduate in December and return to South Africa 鈥渨ith two bags and a one-way plane ticket鈥� to do long-term missionary work. The聽鈥檚 support has helped her graduate debt-free, making her dream of long-term missions possible.
Winters鈥� original plan was to open a coffee shop, but 鈥渁fter this summer, I want to dream bigger,鈥� she said.
Winters was one of three students who shared their stories Tuesday afternoon in a celebration of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation鈥檚 long-term impact on 海角在线 students. JSF funds scholarships and other programs that serve people in financial need. Office Manager/Program Officer Sharon Wood and Program Specialist Lady Hereford attended.
海角在线 President Dr. Debra A. Schwinn said 268 Palm Beach Atlantic students receive scholarships from the foundation, and more than 6,300 students have received Johnson Scholarships to date.
The Johnson Scholarship Foundation creates opportunities for students to come to 海角在线 who聽, she said. Those students go on to improve lives around the world.
鈥淚 love the way that 海角在线 graduates are servant leaders,鈥� Schwinn said.
Two of those servant leaders are Johnson Scholarship recipients Esther Hagan and Anna Rose McIntyre. The alumnae won Fulbright awards to work in the Philippines and Bulgaria, respectively. Palm Beach Atlantic alumni have earned 11 awards in the five years since the university鈥檚 Prestigious National Scholarship Program began. Hagan won two of those; her first award was to Taiwan.
Johnson Scholarship Foundation representatives Lady Hereford and Sharon Wood speak with Johnson Scholars Caleb Johnson (center) and Kevin Greene (left). 海角在线 Provost Dr. Chelly Templeton, right, listens.Johnson Scholar Caleb Johnson applied to 海角在线 at his mother鈥檚 urging, planning 鈥渢o keep God in a little pocket of my life and do business the way I wanted.鈥� That vision soon faded. 海角在线 is a place where 鈥渨e鈥檙e able to figure out what God is calling us to do and be obedient to it,鈥� said the senior international business major from North Carolina.
鈥淲hile my journey may not be anywhere near perfect, my God is,鈥� Johnson said.
Johnson (no relation to the scholarship foundation鈥檚 namesake) plans to do economic development in Mexico and support small businesses there, he said.
Enrique Franco Martin left Mexico and moved to California with his family nine years ago. He came from a family of farmers and is the first to attend a university. When he arrived in the U.S., he was swayed by the culture and was losing touch with God, he said. 鈥淚 was lost.鈥�
His godmother texted him and suggested he study at Palm Beach Atlantic. Franco Martin arrived as a student in 2020, during COVID-19. Nonetheless, 鈥淚 felt at peace. I felt relief. I felt at home,鈥� he said.
Three years ago, Franco Martin 鈥渨as happy to become a U.S. citizen and pursue the American dream, just like Mr. Johnson did,鈥� he said.
Theodore R. Johnson worked his way through college and, after joining the United Parcel Service (UPS) in the early 1920s, earned an MBA at night school. He rose to vice president of labor relations and bought shares of UPS stock. Johnson and his wife, Vivian Chesley Macleod Johnson,聽聽in 1991.
While he pursues a degree in聽cinema arts, Franco Martin works on the video team in 海角在线鈥檚 Advancement office.
鈥淭hanks to the Johnson Scholarship Foundation and 海角在线, I鈥檝e been able to do what I enjoy doing, showing 海角在线 鈥� where you can keep your Christian values, your American values 鈥� to the world,鈥� Franco Martin said.
Laura Bishop, 海角在线鈥檚 executive vice president for advancement, told students that Johnson was a hardworking man who 鈥渋nvested his dollars so that he could invest them back in you.鈥� She added, 鈥淚 think you all feel we鈥檙e making a difference in your lives, but what you don鈥檛 realize is that you鈥檙e making a difference in ours.鈥�
In gratitude to the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, Bishop presented a framed antique scripture of Matthew 21:21-22.
Hereford, JSF鈥檚 program specialist, said the Johnsons believed in the power of education, specifically education that leads to employment. Mr. Johnson was a strong proponent of American free enterprise and entrepreneurship, she said.
Hereford told students, 鈥淭he best thing you can do if you want to thank the Johnson Scholarship Foundation is to go out in the world and make a difference.鈥�
The celebration concluded with seniors Joanna Zein-Eldin and Miriam Edele singing the praise song 鈥淏lessings.鈥�
Photo 1: Student scholarship recipients, 海角在线 leadership and Johnson Scholarship Foundation leadership pose for a photo in the DeSantis Family Chapel on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022.
Photo 2: Johnson Scholarship Foundation representatives Lady Hereford and Sharon Wood speak with Johnson Scholars Caleb Johnson (center) and Kevin Greene (left). 海角在线 Provost Dr. Chelly Templeton, right, listens.
Photo 3: 海角在线 student Matthew Acheson admires the antique scripture the university gave the Johnson Scholarship Foundation to express gratitude for the student scholarships the foundation provides.
