2024 Sonlight Scholarship Winners Introduced

Rising up as a missionary child in Uganda, Sarah gave her life to the Lord on the age of 4 with the understanding that the whole lot she does is totally for and directed by God.

A Sonlighter since preschool, if something can take her again to her childhood, it’s the scent of a narrative treasured inside the dusty pages of a well-loved Sonlight guide. Sarah’s years in Sonlight not solely sparked in her an keen love of studying and instructing, however it additionally enabled her to view the world via the eyes of individuals from varied cultures and backgrounds, instructing her to step into the messiness of individuals’s tales with compassion and empathy.

Impressed by a number of biographies she learn in Sonlight, at 5 years outdated, Sarah developed a passionate love for China. Starting at age 9, she devoted herself to studying Mandarin Chinese language. She desires of at some point creating an area wherever she is the place folks can really feel welcome and finally liked by the Father.

Captivated with discipleship, missions, and training, Sarah loves spending time with folks, ministering alongside her mother and father, serving and internet hosting, studying historic fiction, spontaneously baking and cooking, worshipping the Lord via track, and dealing on varied sorts of inventive tasks.

All through highschool, she has had the privilege of serving by taking part in Bible trainings together with her household, main a web-based scholar chapel, aiding her older brother in creating Bible movies for Bricktime Studios, designing graphics for varied Bible and ministry sources, working a worship lyric YouTube channel, and coordinating worship units for group devotions and ministry trainings.

Her love of instructing and languages drew her to English as a Second Language (ESL) training, a course of research that may equip her with sensible expertise she will use wherever the Lord leads. A Nationwide Advantage Finalist, Sarah has been accepted into the honors program at Liberty College, the place she’s going to pursue a level in ESL with minors in linguistics and Chinese language.

Regardless of the future holds, Sarah goes ahead propelled by her love for Christ and her want to share His story with the world.

Aiden L. lives in a distant space of Southeast Asia and completely loves it there. He feels so blessed to have been capable of develop up in a number of totally different international locations internationally. God has used the various totally different experiences and alternatives to form Aiden into the individual God needs him to be.

Having grown up touring regularly, Aiden and his household are so grateful for Sonlight and have used Sonlight since kindergarten via highschool. Aiden loves the flexibleness that Sonlight offers and the way that’s meant that he’s been capable of dive deep into topics he loves, significantly historical past. He has discovered that every one the Sonlight books he has learn have vastly deepened his data and challenged his mind-set.

Due to Sonlight’s flexibility, Aiden has had many alternatives to pursue non-academic pursuits, similar to carpentry and soccer. From an early age, Aiden has all the time liked carpentry and is nearly all the time engaged on one challenge or one other. His household’s home is stuffed together with his creations! Aiden can be captivated with soccer, and God has used this in superb methods. It has been the principle means that Aiden has related with folks in South-East Asia and thru taking part in soccer he has develop into a liked member of the area people. Whether or not it’s taking part in on the native workforce, organizing his personal workforce, or teaching younger youngsters, soccer offers a mess of how to construct relationships in the area people.

Aiden goes to attend Redeemer College in Hamilton, ON starting within the fall of 2024 and plans to review psychology and sports activities teaching. Though Aiden doesn’t but know what God’s long-term plan is for him, he’s decided to hunt to serve and glorify God wherever and no matter he’s doing. Aiden believes that every one Christians ought to be looking for to serve others and to share the Gospel with these round them and his dream is to do nice issues for the Kingdom of God. No matter plans God has for Aiden he’ll search to humbly do God’s will and to try in the whole lot to glorify Him.

Jasmine S. of Mechanicsburg, PA is the second little one in her household to graduate utilizing Sonlight’s homeschool curriculum. Following in her elder sister’s footsteps, Jasmine started her training with Sonlight’s preschool program. Not solely has this instructional expertise elevated her love for studying, however she has additionally grown in her relationship with Jesus and want for missions. Via the years, Jasmine found her love for math and science, finally main her to the choice to develop into an engineer. As well as, the abundance of missionary tales provided via Sonlight impressed her from a younger age, instilling a want to serve the Lord in missions. Particularly, the story of Gladys Alward’s work in China motivated Jasmine to start learning Mandarin at age 12.

Jasmine has all the time sought methods to serve others. At house she cheerfully helps with chores, caring for the canine, and tutoring her youthful siblings in math. At her church, Jasmine has volunteered with the nursery and served together with her youth group on two mission journeys, first within the metropolis of Harrisburg and later in Guatemala. Throughout this second journey, she discovered that serving others is without doubt one of the most essential methods of sharing God’s love. From this expertise, Jasmine knew she wished to someway use her curiosity in math and science to serve others.

Final spring when she attended a Messiah College open home for engineering, Jasmine started to see that her hope to discover a means to make use of math and science to serve others is feasible. Messiah’s engineering program requires college students to affix groups engaged on tasks with mission organizations for his or her capstone challenge. By attending Messiah College and majoring in electrical engineering, Jasmine is hoping to have the chance, not solely to develop into a superb engineer but additionally to offer options for human wants around the globe—tasks like putting in photo voltaic panels for an orphanage in Zambia or designing cheap but efficient wheelchairs for a hospital in Nepal. In the end, Jasmine hopes that via her faculty training, she’s going to discover alternatives to comply with Christ’s name to unfold the gospel and to “wash one another’s toes” (John 13:14, NLT).

John J. of Santee, CA, has been homeschooled utilizing Sonlight his entire life. Homeschooling has allowed him the flexibleness to pursue and develop his many pursuits, abilities, and passions, all for the glory of God.

John is a small group chief at his church and enjoys serving his fellow college students and main them within the research of God’s phrase. Whereas difficult at instances, this position has pushed John to raised perceive the Bible and present compassion to his friends. He additionally performs piano on his youth group’s worship workforce, permitting him to do one thing he loves whereas serving the church.

Along with piano, John performs French Horn in Live performance Ensemble and Trumpet in Jazz Band. He enjoys composing music, and has scored a number of scholar movies, successful Greatest Movie Rating within the Christian Youth Movie Competition.

John likes to critically analyze the whole lot, be it philosophical concepts, insurance policies, or his youthful sister’s grammar when she makes use of him as her editor. An avid speaker and debater for six years, John has gained Lincoln Douglas Worth Debate and Parliamentary Debate at a number of tournaments along with quite a few speech occasions, receiving the Match Champion award on the SoCal Basic. He’s grateful for the chance that his speech and debate league Stoa has given him to develop in talent and data and has loved instructing youthful college students what he has discovered.

Within the fall, John will attend Patrick Henry Faculty the place he plans to review American Politics and Coverage. After that, he plans to attend regulation college. He doesn’t know what all of the Lord has in retailer for him, however he hopes to defend reality and justice wherever he’s referred to as.

Ava Thompson of Tacoma, Washington, has all the time been a reader. When she’s discovered with a guide in her hand, which is all the time, it’s often from Sonlight. Since Ava was in kindergarten, Sonlight has been the spine of her research, offering a robust story-centered background in historical past, authorities, worldview, and extra. As she has expanded her extracurriculars all through highschool, her sturdy training has enabled her to be taught shortly and work determinedly at the whole lot she makes an attempt.

Ava has studied Latin for 9 years, sparking a love of language and historical past that she holds to at the present time. She has been awarded two good papers and three gold medals for her leads to the Nationwide Latin Examination. In faculty, Ava will probably be learning Superior Latin earlier than her sophomore journey to Rome.

Ava has been a passion author for so long as she might maintain a pencil, attempting to emulate the books she loves like associates, similar to A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, David Copperfield, and Brideshead Revisited. She dabbles in poetry and describes writing as a option to course of and develop by yourself experiences, even once they’re cloaked in fiction.

Throughout junior 12 months, Ava joined a speech and debate membership. Her pure presents of argumentation (which her household could not have all the time referred to as presents) led to her speech on linguistics inserting nineteenth nationally, and this season, she is already pre-qualified for Nationals in debate and has additionally met success together with her speeches. Ava and her brother gained first place as they carried out a speech primarily based on Don Quixote, one other of Ava’s favourite books. Two of her different speeches have positioned second and fifth.

Ava is attending the Thomas Extra Faculty of Liberal Arts within the fall to earn a level within the liberal arts; past that, she is undecided between pursuing regulation or linguistics. Both means, she plans to make a distinction in her world for Christ, beginning together with her baptism this Easter after being raised in a robust Christian family. Her motto, which she tries to signify in all her work, is per ipsum, professional ipsum–via Him, for Him.

Avery A. lives together with her household in Jenks, Oklahoma the place she and her two youthful siblings have been homeschooled their entire lives. Avery is proud to say that she has used Sonlight from Pre-Ok via senior 12 months, and she or he has liked each second of it. Early on, Sonlight’s literature-based cores prompted Avery to fall in love with books and turned her into an avid reader. She has found many new favorites via Sonlight, and she or he has additionally learn tons of of non-school books in her free time. Avery is so grateful for the life expertise homeschooling has taught her, similar to accountability, self-discipline, time administration, and excellence. Her religion has additionally been strengthened by the various religion tales she has learn for college. Avery is gloomy to say goodbye to Sonlight when she graduates, however she can be looking forward to her future. She plans to attend John Brown College in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, main in mechanical engineering, and minor in music.

Avery has all the time liked to be taught new issues concerning the world round her, and due to this, she has all the time had a love for science. One other one in all Avery’s deep passions is serving different folks, which she does always via her church. When she found that engineering means utilizing science and math in sensible methods to assist make the world higher and safer for others, she knew that being an engineer could be a fantastic match! Moreover, engineering is an ideal means for her to meet her dream of working for NASA at some point.

A few of Avery’s hobbies embrace—in addition to studying—spending time with family and friends, going tenting, listening to music, and taking part in the piano. She has performed piano for over eleven years and has performed with the coed worship workforce at her church all through highschool. She loves utilizing her abilities to worship God on this means.

Avery believes that, finally, everybody known as to stay a life that serves Jesus first and second others. She hopes and prays that her plans for the longer term will glorify God and assist others expertise Him.

Chelsea H. of Greer, SC, has been educated at house since Kindergarten and has used Sonlight curriculum since 2^nd grade. From the age of two years outdated, Chelsea has liked varied types of inventive expression together with dance, drama, music, pictures, and particularly drawing.

Chelsea’s research and apply of artwork have led her as an instance two kids’s books for writer Susan Perry and full 15 commissioned artwork items. Chelsea additionally labored as an artwork instructor’s assistant for 2 summers on the beloved artwork studio Creating Artists for Tomorrow, the place she had beforehand been an artwork scholar for 9 years. Chelsea now has the enjoyment of sharing her love of artwork with two home-educated elementary college students as their non-public artwork instructor. You’ll be able to comply with Chelsea’s artwork pursuits on Instagram @_sunshine_scribbles_

In February of 2023, Chelsea was chosen because the first-place highschool winner of the Dwelling College Authorized Protection Affiliation’s 2022-2023 Nationwide Artwork Contest. Her piece was chosen out of 60 different submissions. Chelsea was awarded $500, and her successful piece is on show on the HSLDA headquarters at Patrick Henry Faculty.

Chelsea is honored to be a member of the Nationwide Society of Excessive College Students and the Nationwide Dwelling College Honor Society (Eta Sigma Alpha, Rho Gamma Chapter).

When Chelsea is just not drawing or learning, she enjoys instructing preschoolers at her church, delivering meals and smiles for Meals on Wheels, pet sitting, and spending time with family and friends.

Chelsea will attend North Greenville College within the fall, the place she was just lately awarded the Trustee Tutorial Advantage Scholarship and the SC Palmetto Fellows Scholarship. Chelsea will probably be majoring in Artwork with a focus in Drawing. She hopes to proceed illustrating books and at some point personal an artwork studio the place she will educate kids, provide artwork remedy, and share the love of Jesus. Chelsea’s favourite Bible verse is Psalm 28:7. “The Lord is my power and my defend; my coronary heart trusts in him, and I’m helped. Subsequently my coronary heart celebrates, and I give due to him with my track.”

Ella H., of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, has joyfully devoured inspiring and enlightening Sonlight supplies from an early age, at the same time as she spent 4 years attending quite a lot of native Spanish-language faculties. Ella has given generously of herself on behalf of deserted particular wants kids in myriad methods since her first adoptive sibling arrived when she was simply 3, aside from volunteering as a useful daughter together with her missionary mother and father who based and direct their kids’s house, Judah Quy: Casa de los Preciosos. She has served as an excellent substitute mother to kids with a broad number of well being and neurological challenges, a curriculum and social adaptor for one blind scholar who mainstreamed right into a sighted Bolivian college final 12 months, and a volunteer within the house’s communication program serving to the youngsters overcome extreme limitations to specific themselves with pictograms and haptic indicators. She can be a proud large sister to 12 youthful siblings, most of whom have been adopted from that house.

Ella speaks English and Spanish and has reasonable capabilities in American Signal Language, Bolivian Signal Language, and Braille. In her free time, you can see her studying (and rereading) her beloved Sonlight books! Additionally, you will discover her spending time together with her Labrador Cora (she has helped elevate three generations of Labradors the place the cash from the gross sales of puppies goes to the house). She additionally likes to prepare dinner and bake in addition to paint (she has painted murals of Bolivian wildlife at house together with her finest good friend).

Ella believes that God is probably main her to review medication to assist meet the overwhelming want for charitable pediatric subspecialists in her group, and hopes you may pray for her as she follows His lead.

Hana Ross of Rosamond, CA, is a navy little one who has used Sonlight since 2nd grade, which has helped develop her love of studying. She loves problem-solving, math, and science. This love of lecturers was developed by Sonlight’s superb curriculum and by hands-on science labs at a homeschool co-op. At this co-op, Hana is the chief of the yearbook workers, which includes enhancing, designing, and taking images for a 70-page yearbook.

Exterior of lecturers, Hana can be a gifted musician who seeks to serve Christ by taking part in piano and violin for her church. She can be closely concerned in an area orchestra and was chosen to play within the Excessive College Honors Chamber group. She performs guitar for her homeschool co-op and has began instructing violin classes to younger college students.

One other ardour of Hana’s is sports activities. She is pleased to play something with a ball and a rating and is commonly discovered taking part in organized sports activities or simply soccer or frisbee together with her associates. She is captain of her official soccer workforce and organizes weekly matches with a number of different homeschool households as properly. In her free time, she enjoys baking and getting ready goodies for households she is aware of.

As she begins this subsequent stage of life, Hana needs to resolve issues and make the world a greater place to stay in. She seeks to be the type of one that serves everybody round her and needs to like Christ together with her entire coronary heart and to glorify Him in the whole lot she does. Her final aim is to at some point hear, “Effectively performed, good and trustworthy servant…Enter into the enjoyment of your grasp.” (Matthew 25:23)

This fall, Hana is headed to Cedarville College in Ohio to pursue a level in Civil Engineering.

Henry F. of Stanwood, WA is the oldest of six, all of whom have been utilizing Sonlight since preschool. He supplemented this with twin enrollment programs in his junior and senior years, sustaining a 4.0 GPA. The Sonlight-assigned books learn over time have helped to form and strengthen the best way he views and interacts with the world round him.

He has an avid love for sports activities. He was capable of compete in sports activities via the native highschool, taking part in soccer and likewise working varsity cross nation for 3 years, one as a captain.

Church and ministry have been a giant a part of Henry’s household life. His great-grandfather and namesake was a pastor. His grandparents taught in Christian faculties. He has grown up with a front-row view of ministry life. When he was 5 years outdated, his dad, because the lead pastor, assisted within the planting of a church. Henry has had many alternative alternatives to serve within the church and has helped in Sunday college, espresso bar, main in youth group, and so on. He’s all the time keen to leap in and help regardless of the duty. Henry additionally has a ardour for music and has been drumming because the age of ten. This has allowed him to help in main worship, each on Sundays and at youth group in addition to to assist others enhance their musical potential.

Sonlight’s Faculty and Profession Planning course was instrumental in serving to him select the course he’s at the moment pursuing a profession in counseling. Henry has all the time liked working with and being round folks. He believes that the totally different worldview views he has gained via the various books he learn for college have ready him for a job coping with folks experiencing every kind of conditions. He’s contemplating just a few totally different schools proper now however whichever one he decides on, he’s trying to research psychology. He’s conscious that although that is the trail that he’s following proper now, God’s plan could also be totally different however he’s excited to determine the place that path leads.

Scholarship Winner Bio Coming Quickly!

Vivienne C., of Monument, CO, has been homeschooled since she was within the second grade using Sonlight’s curriculum from the start till her commencement. Sonlight’s distinctive mixture of literature and historical past collectively was the spotlight of her training. She has additionally loved her twin enrollment faculty programs, in preparation for her future faculty training. Vivienne is worked up to start learning advertising and marketing/enterprise this fall at a Christian faculty within the honors program.

Vivienne is enthusiastic in all her pursuits. Whether or not it’s studying her favourite writer, Jane Austen, or learning a historic occasion, she immerses herself in no matter she is studying. She has instituted household Regency-era dinner events the place her household attire up, discusses the problems of that interval, and dines collectively as if they’re within the 19^th century. She likes to have enjoyable and has even led worship dressed as a Christmas tree (full with lights!) for her youth Christmas get together.

Vivienne, as a homeschool scholar, performed JV and Varsity golf for her native highschool. She has performed the piano for 8 years and studied guitar for the final 4 years, specializing in worship and jazz guitar. She additionally loves working with horses at a historic ranch, studying groundwork and using. She has additionally served on two church mission journeys, reaching out to communities which are typically neglected.

Vivienne leads worship every week for her youth group on guitar and vocals. She has had a missional focus all through her highschool profession, devoting her time and her coronary heart to main worship. She has felt referred to as to facilitate worship for her friends understanding that for some, it might be their solely alternative to worship in the course of the week. She seems ahead to persevering with her love for main worship in faculty, whether or not serving in chapel or in a small group in her dorm. She loves utilizing her abilities for the glory of God.