by Lauren McGuire, Student Public Relations Writer
Two Cedarville University students, whose lives started half a world away, are the recipients of this year’s Foster Care and Adoption Scholarship from the university.
Freshmen Jyun Yuan Klein, a nursing major from Lancaster, South Carolina, and Elizabeth Ezell, a pharmaceutical science major from Cumming, Georgia, were awarded the scholarship. The scholarship is renewable for up to eight semesters as long as the student remains in good academic standing.
Klein was born and raised in Taiwan until she was adopted at the age of 9. She entered the foster care system six years earlier after her birth father passed away. Ezell grew up in China and was adopted when she was 1 year old.
“Growing up in Taiwan, I was taught the basics of Confucianism and idol worship,” Klein said. “It was at the age of 8, when I came to the United States to stay with my host family that later adopted me that I heard the gospel for the first time.”
At 10 years old, Klein became a Christian after hearing a missionary couple sharing the message about Jesus Christ at a missions conference at her church.
Her older sister graduated from Cedarville in 2019. During visits to her sister, she was exposed to Cedarville’s academic programs, sat through chapels, and fell in love with the university. She ended up applying for the Foster Care Scholarship three times before she received it.
“Straight out of high school, I desired to be at Cedarville but couldn’t go here without additional financial aid,” she said. “God pretty clearly shut the door to Cedarville my first year, so I served the last two years at The Wilds Christian Camp in Brevard, North Carolina.”
Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic started to close down the camp, she received this scholarship. It was clear that it was time to take the next step in life toward college. “The scholarship has been a tremendous blessing and is the reason I’m here,” she said.
Ezell has five siblings, three biological and two who were also adopted — her younger sister from Ethiopia and an older brother from the Philippines.
“I didn’t know Cedarville existed until junior year of high school when my dad spoke at one of Cedarville’s chapels,” she said. “I was interested ever since.”
“I’m grateful that my life is a picture of how we are also adopted by Christ as his children,” Ezell added.
To be considered for the scholarship, a student must have been in the custody of a foster home or can verify they were legally adopted from a foster home or similar situation, meet regular admission requirements and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
For more information or to apply for the Foster Care Scholarship, visit: cedarville.edu/fostercarescholarship.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,550 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs,, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.