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By Ginny Underwood*
2:00 P.M. ET June 3, 2013 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)
Lina McCord ambassador Bridget Sisney (center) joins AU Jubilante choir
members during 20th anniversary celebration of Africa University in
Zimbabwe. UMNS photos by Kathleen Barry.
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Bridget Sisney graduated from United Methodist-related Dillard University
this month with a degree in biology and a minor in chemistry, but her
next step in life is taking her far away from the academic framework of
science.
“I’m currently applying to graduate programs and divinity schools,”
said Sisney, a native of Jackson, Miss. She credits this shift in
direction to her four-year training as a Lina McCord ambassador, a
program funded by the United Methodist Black College Fund.
“I can tell you everything about the human body, fungus and
bacteria, but I cannot tell you about the literary roots of the Bible.
I’m missing that part.”
Sisney said that becoming an intern and ambassador in the Lina
McCord program compelled her to look within herself for a deeper
understanding of her core principles and values.
The Lina McCord scholars,
selected from the 11 historically black United Methodist colleges and
universities, are chosen by their chaplains and presidents. The
student ambassadors are named for the fund’s longtime executive
director, the late Lina H. McCord.
Fund helps keep tuition down
Sisney is a Lina McCord ambassador and a 2013 graduate of Dillard University in New Orleans. A UMNS photo by Kathleen Barry.
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The Black College Fund,
established by the 1972 United Methodist General Conference, provides
support for operations, programs and capital improvements at the
denomination’s historically black colleges. The fund allows the
institutions to keep their tuition and cost low. Seventy percent of
Black College Fund students receive federal Pell Grants,
indicating their families earn less than $40,000 a year. On some
campuses, the average family income is even less. For example, at Philander Smith College in Little Rock,
the average family income is $29,000. The students at the historically
black schools represent people from all ethnic backgrounds.
“Students from the historically black colleges and universities
simply have a desire to better themselves and their families,” said Walter Kimbrough,
president of Dillard. “They need our help. The support from United
Methodists fundamentally changes lives and futures of these students.”
This year, Lina McCord interns will visit annual conferences in West
Ohio, Illinois Great Rivers, Baltimore-Washington, Western
Pennsylvania, New York, Tennessee, Memphis, Iowa, East Ohio, Alabama
West Florida, Kentucky, Upper New York, Susquehanna, South Carolina and
Peninsula-Delaware.
Sharing success stories
“Lina McCord interns and ambassadors are critical to helping annual
conferences in The United Methodist Church see where their money is
going,” said Cynthia Bond Hopson, staff executive for the Black College
Fund and Ethnic Concerns at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
“Historically black colleges and universities are still relevant and
important in the life of the church. This program gives these students
skills and an opportunity to share their success stories with United
Methodists who have generously supported the Black College Fund.”
Sisney will work this summer with Teach For America, a nonprofit
that recruits college leaders to work with children in poverty. She
says her connection to The United Methodist Church has led her to this
opportunity.
“It is a chain reaction,” she said. “I was able to get my degree,
and in turn, I’ve decided to teach children who have not had many
opportunities. In time, they will be inspired to go to college. It all
starts with the people of The United Methodist Church believing in us.”
*Underwood is a communications consultant based in Yukon, Okla.
News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn. (615) 742-5473 or newsdesk@umcom.org