{"id":498,"date":"2018-05-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/graduation-gods-faithfulness\/"},"modified":"2021-12-28T22:59:55","modified_gmt":"2021-12-28T22:59:55","slug":"graduation-gods-faithfulness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.northcentral.edu\/blog\/graduation-gods-faithfulness\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduation and God’s faithfulness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amber Rechelle \u201918 came to Minnesota from Beaumont, Texas. A talented violinist, she spent two years at a Minnesota music college but determined it was not the place God had for her. Her pastor told her about North Central and although she at first didn\u2019t want to attend a Christian school, her options boiled down to returning to Texas or going to North Central. She chose NCU.<\/p>\n

Challenged not just by the cultural differences but with unexpected academic struggles that dropped her GPA to the point of receiving an academic warning, her first year was a struggle. \u201cI\u2019m not type of student to have bad grades,\u201d she said. \u201cThat semester was hard.\u201d<\/p>\n

On top of that she learned that her financing had fallen through and she owed the school more than $10,000. Despite the difficulties, Amber wanted to persevere. \u201cI went home [that summer] hoping in my gut I could come back.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Texas she found a job that she didn\u2019t love but worked at faithfully, following her mother\u2019s advice to use half of every paycheck to pay down her college bill.<\/p>\n

Ten months later, Amber had paid most of it. Her mother believed God would provide the rest so they flew from Texas to Minnesota, still unsure of how they would pay. An unexpected gift from her grandparents, Donnell and Betty Polk, allowed her to settle the remaining debt.<\/p>\n

Supported by scholarships<\/h2>\n

\u201cBack at North Central everyone was excited to see me,\u201d Amber recalled. \u201cThey didn\u2019t know I was coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to funds available through generous donors, \u201cGod blessed me with additional scholarships<\/a> from North Central,\u201d Amber said. She applied herself and watched her GPA rise.<\/p>\n

When school started in fall 2017, Amber received news that her family had been forced out of their home due to Hurricane Harvey.<\/p>\n

She went to Texas\u2014to her mom\u2019s temporary home\u2014for Christmas break intending to drop out of school to help her family. \u201cMy mom said, \u2018No, you have to finish,\u2019\u201d Amber recalled; \u201c\u2019you\u2019ve got a promise on your life!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Her maternal grandmother also played a pivotal role in encouraging Amber.<\/p>\n

Deeply discouraged by her situation, Amber was held up by her grandmother, Miss Frankie Leblanc Webster Jones, who reminded her of her favorite Scripture, Proverbs 3:5\u20136<\/a>. Her grandma looked at her and said confidently, \u201cGod is going to change your direction. And you\u2019re going to school for one thing but you\u2019re going to leave coming out with something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smiling at the memory, Amber said, \u201cOld black women always say everything\u2019s gonna be all right!\u201d<\/p>\n

While her family dealt with the aftermath of the storm, Amber\u2019s financial situation was still tight. \u201cI was barely able to make rent, but I was trying to maintain the promise that God was going to restore.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March 2018, Amber got the news she had been accepted into Howard University<\/a>. \u201cA small-town girl from Beaumont got into Howard University,\u201d she marveled. \u201cI come from a family of collegiate people, but my mother doesn\u2019t have a degree so I\u2019m the first child to have a bachelor’s degree. We have come from having no light, no groceries, not being able to pay bills\u2026\u201d to being accepted into graduate school to study, not music, but\u00a0Education Leadership and Policy Studies\u2014her grandmother’s words rang true.<\/p>\n

It was a noticeable juxtaposition for Amber. The storms left her family in disarray but Amber is filled with hope.<\/p>\n

Evidence of God’s faithfulness<\/h2>\n

Amber walked across the platform at North Central\u2019s graduation ceremony on May 4 while her mother, sister, and grandparents cheered from the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy story is not complete,\u201d she said. \u201cBut in the midst of all the storms, both physical and spiritual, God has shown himself to be a restoration in my life and in my family.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like this is such a big thing in my family. I know God is calling me to be a leader in this generation. Not just lead the future educators but to lead the children, fix the policies in education so we can have a generation of future leaders\u2014male, female, black, white, Latino\u2014to change the education system for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amber is grateful for the family that has stood by her and for the education she\u2019s received. \u201cI\u2019m grateful to North Central,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve met some of the most amazing professors. I\u2019ve met my best friends for life, both black and white. I\u2019ve learned who I am as a young lady. I\u2019ve learned my calling. I\u2019ve learned a lot about God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pictured above: Grandparents\u00a0Donnel and Betty Bernard Polk, graduate Amber Rechelle (Polk), and Amber’s mother and sister, Pamela Jones \u00a0and Morgan Polk.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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