Tyler Humphreys and Samantha Rodriguez are standout servant leaders and high school graduates who, as Farish Scholars, inked full-ride scholarship agreements to attend Palm Beach Atlantic in the fall.
Their parents, admissions counselors and PBA faculty and staff joined them for a virtual National Signing Day-style ceremony.
Watch the Farish Scholars Signing Ceremony here.
“We strive to give honor to whom honor is due, and that’s certainly Tyler and Samy,” said Tim Worley, vice president for admissions.
The full, four-year scholarship is highly-competitive. To qualify, a high school senior must have above-average GPA and SAT scores. Qualified candidates must submit two essays and come to campus for interviews with key faculty and staff.
Humphreys earned a 4.3 GPA and has served at church spaghetti dinners, distributed food to homeless people and volunteered at summer camps for low-income children. A graduate of Circle Christian School in Winter Park, Florida, Humphreys said he really wanted to attend PBA. He knew that if PBA was where he was supposed to be, God would make a way, he said.
“PBA is where God’s equipping me and calling me to go,” Humphreys said.
Rodriguez earned a 4.9 GPA and led a mentorship program for young girls at a low-income elementary school. She also established a quarterly fellowship event for girls at her high school, Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale.
She remembered feeling “so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude” when her admissions counselors called her with the good news about the Farish Scholarship.
“I’m beyond thankful that the Lord has given me the desire of my heart, which is to continue pursuing Him and grow spiritually, academically and socially, all at a Christian university debt-free,” Rodriguez said.
The University established the scholarship through the generosity of the late Joseph Farish, Jr. and his wife, Loreen Beisswenger Farish. Farish was a World War II veteran who went on to become a tenacious attorney and judge.
The couple would be proud of Humphreys and Rodriguez for their respective accomplishments, love for their families and commitment to pursuing all that God has in store, Worley said.
“When you graduate, you’ll be prepared for whatever step is next for you, whether it’s graduate school, professional school, the work force or the mission field,” Worley said. “Wherever and whatever you might be doing, you will be ready.”
