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.

 
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 5,791 students from 49 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 fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.