Christina Richards
Macomb, Ill.
When Christina Richards was a little girl and her mother was a college student, her mom would take her along to class lectures. A single mother, she instilled in Christina a love of learning and taught her to persist through adversity. “I think my mom would have wanted me to go to college, but the resources just wouldn’t have been there. Given the place she was at financially and the amount of support she was able to give, I don’t think she would have been able to help me through the transition to college.”
Christina’s mom passed away during her freshman year of high school, and she went to live with a local foster family. Her foster dad is a professor at nearby Western Illinois University, and both foster parents encouraged and expected her to go to college. At Calvin, she says she found a college that fits her. “I don’t feel like I’m being stretched outside of who I am, but I feel like I’m growing into myself and into who God wants me to be.”
Initially she was uncertain how she would pay for a Calvin education. Then she learned about Entrada, scholarships and financial aid opportunities, including financial aid from annual fund donations.With this support, and by working summer jobs, Calvin was within reach. “I want to say ‘thank you’ to all the people who give to Calvin,” she says. “Because of your gifts, I will graduate with minimal debt, and that makes me want to give back…I want to help others, because I’ve been helped so much in my life.”
An English major concentrating in linguistics, Christina says that one day she’d like to be a professor: “The professors at Calvin are so good at connecting with students; they love what they’re doing, and they’re passionate about it. I’d love to be like that some day.”
