Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2009-06-05

Samford University senior Jeremiah Chester has received a prestigious fellowship from the Fund for Theological Education (FTE).

As an FTE Undergraduate Fellow, Chester will receive $2,000 for tuition, other educational expenses or a self-designed experience related to the exploration of ministry.

He will also attend the 2009 FTE Conference on Excellence in Ministry, "Becoming Rich toward God: Pastoral Leadership and Economic Justice," June 17-21 at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va.

FTE undergraduate fellowships recognize students who have gifts for leadership and are exploring the possibility of ministry as a vocation. Chester is a philosophy and religion major from West Palm Beach, Fla.

The fellowship award is funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc.

The 2009 FTE undergraduate fellows were chosen by a national committee of theological educators and church leaders on the basis of academic achievement, an interest in exploring ministry as a vocation, and demonstrated leadership in a church or school committee. Fellows were selected from a pool of applicants from across the U.S. and Canada.

 
Located in the Homewood suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,324 students from 44 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford is widely recognized as having one of the most beautiful campuses in America, featuring rolling hills, meticulously maintained grounds and Georgian-Colonial architecture. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks with the second-highest score in the nation for its 98% Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.