University Pays Student's Debt
Tulsa, OK - When Hope Way came to Wednesday's final chapel service of the year at
Oral Roberts University (ORU), she had no idea she was going to be selected to have
her student debt paid by the University before the service was over.
"I'm in shock," said Way. "It's a miracle. I was literally doing my exit interviews the other day and didn't know how God was going to provide but I knew He was going to come through. It's a gift from God and now I feel free to do what He's asked me to do."
ORU will be celebrating its 50th Commencement exercise Saturday, May 6, 2017, so university leadership looked to Old Testament scripture for a way to commemorate this unique milestone.
"Biblically, Jubilee happened once every fifty years in Israel," said Dr. William M. Wilson, President of Oral Roberts University. "Several things happened during Jubilee, and one of those things was that all debt was forgiven. So we wanted to celebrate our Jubilee Commencement exercise by paying off the debt of one student."
Way couldn't be happier. As a major in Theater Arts, she plans on turning her talents to education, working with lower-income children to teach them about self-expression and how the arts can help them cope with the troubles of life.
"My dream goal is to have a children's theater and work with kids," said Way. "I believe kids have a huge imagination, and I really want them to come together and experience what it's like to let your imagination run wild. I'm trusting God."
The pool of available students was drawn from full-time undergraduates enrolled in the Spring 2017 semester who had filed their application for candidacy to graduate in May. University officials will pay all of Way's existing debt.
"We believe that you never go wrong by sowing into the students of today," said Dr. Wilson. "We have hundreds of people who sow millions of dollars into scholarships for our students. One-third of our budget is given to students in scholarship form, and yet still many of them must sacrifice in order to come here. We want to help them as much as we can, and today, we're saying, 'We're with you.’”
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