‘It Changed Everything’

Beacon Scholar Josie Ogden shares how a full-tuition scholarship made college possible – and brought her back to faith.

Josie almost didn’t make it to her Beacon Scholarship interview.

She’d just finished a night shift as a certified nursing assistant when the call came — someone had dropped out last minute. Could she interview Friday? She said no. She had to work.

Then she called her mom and her roommate. “Are you crazy?” they said. “Call out of work. We’ll drive you.”

So her roommate picked her up at 6 a.m. after her shift ended, drove three hours from Bend to Newberg for the interview, then drove back so Josie could sleep before her next shift. When she found out she’d won the full-tuition scholarship, she called it what it was: a blessing from God.

Josie, now 24, knows something about blessings. She was placed in foster care at 6 and adopted at 10 by Linda, a woman who was 62 at the time and already raising five children. Linda adopted Josie, her brother, and her younger sister as a group because she didn’t want to separate them. Then she retired early when Josie’s little sister, who was born with two holes in her heart, needed constant medical care.

“She gave up her life to raise us,” Josie says. “I want her to see that it was worth it.”

The Beacon Difference

The Beacon Transfer Scholarship provides full tuition for high-achieving transfer students who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership potential, and financial need. But it offers something more than financial support. Recipients join a cohort of scholars who meet regularly, receive mentorship from upperclassmen, and build community throughout their time at George Fox.

For Josie, that community became essential. “This scholarship has not only helped me pay for school, but I’ve become so close to the other scholars,” she says. “None of them are in the education program, but I get to see them at least once a month. Just having this scholarship helps you financially, but it also helps you build a community and make you feel even more at home.

Finding a Path

In high school, Josie was able to become a certified nursing assistant and began working right away. Her first year of college coincided with the pandemic, and like so many nurses she worked the COVID unit at the hospital, picking up extra shifts and ultimately sleeping through classes. Her grades suffered, and she lost her scholarships, the support that made college possible. She decided to take a year off.

When she came back, Josie decided to change careers and finally explore her calling to become a teacher. It took two years to earn her associate degree in early childhood education. She worked the entire time as a nursing assistant — a job she’s held for six years now — while attending community college.

When her advisor suggested George Fox, Josie saw it as an opportunity to step back into faith. She’d grown up in a Christian family but had drifted away during her busy nursing years. Linda was thrilled when Josie called to tell her she was applying to George Fox.

Coming Back to Faith

At George Fox, Josie has found her way back to faith through the community around her. She found a church in Beaverton that welcomed her immediately and invited her to a Bible study that summer. She made friends with classmates who talk openly about their beliefs. And she experienced something unexpected: professors who do devotions before class.

“At first, coming from public schools where they don’t do that, it felt unusual,” Josie admits. “But I absolutely love it now. I think it's so meaningful.”

She bought a Bible when she decided to come to George Fox. Now she listens to it on audio during her commute, taking in Scripture as she drives between Portland and Newberg.

And she discovered something else. Josie had hated math her entire life – until she met her George Fox math professor, Rachel Harrington, who took the time to help her understand. For the first time, math made sense.

Now Josie wants to be a middle school math teacher.

Making College Possible

Even with the Beacon Scholarship covering full tuition, Josie works three jobs – as a nursing assistant on weekends, a cafeteria worker three mornings a week, and in the fall, at Spirit Halloween part time. She doesn’t qualify for federal grants because her income as a CNA is considered too high, even though she struggles to pay for gas and living expenses. For students like Josie, first-generation, working full-time to support themselves, a full-tuition scholarship is the difference between college being possible or impossible.

“Without this scholarship, I don’t think I could ever afford George Fox,” Josie says. “My family just cannot help me pay for college. I couldn’t get financial aid. This scholarship was literally — and I told my mom — a blessing from God.”

Linda is 78 now, living on Social Security, and still raising Josie's 18-year-old sister. Josie calls her anywhere from one to three times a day. “I just want to make her proud,” she says.

She will. And in two and a half years, she’ll be in a classroom, making a difference for students who need her.