CBE International is proud to support the education and ministry of Janae Meyer, Pushpa Samuel, and Eliza Stiles, the winners of the 2019 Alvera Mickelsen Memorial Scholarship!
Janae Meyer
is in her third year of the master of divinity program at Nazarene Theological Seminary.
Janae currently serves as the Christian education director at Eugene First Church of the Nazarene and is an active member of her local Refugee Resettlement Coalition. After finishing her master’s degree, she hopes to pursue a doctorate degree and use her education and experiences to teach others.
This $6,000 scholarship empowers Janae to pursue those dreams and continue to follow God’s call on her life. As a woman going into ministry, the road has not been smooth or easy, and there have been some discouraging moments along the way. This scholarship lifts the financial burden for the 2019-2020 school year and encourages her to continue listening to God’s guiding voice. Alvera Mickelsen’s legacy is a reminder that women can and do lift each other up.
Pushpa Samuel
is a second-year master of divinity student at Fuller Theological Seminary.
After working for several years as a biomedical engineer, Pushpa joined an inner city parachurch ministry. Through this work, she felt the call to attend seminary. She did not have plans for after graduation, since she thought being a pastor was the only available vocation and women are not ordained within her tradition. Thankfully, seminary has shown her a wealth of possibilities for women in ministry, and she is currently interested in pursuing chaplaincy.
Receiving this $6,000 scholarship has given Pushpa the courage to continue engaging in conversation about barriers preventing women’s ordination, and it had reaffirmed her call to full-time ministry. This scholarship is also a large financial support to continue her theological training.
Eliza Stiles
is an MA in systematic theology candidate in her second year at Wheaton College Graduate School.
As a woman working in ministry and studying theology, Eliza is where she is today because of important mentors in her life. These mentors have continuously believed in her calling. They have empowered, supported, and advocated for her. Their voices are the ones she has listened to when her calling has been questioned. It is because of them that Eliza feels hopeful and confident as she continues in ministry.
As Eliza continues her academic studies, she feels called to invest in the life of the church, and particularly students in a youth ministry context. She is passionate about developing theological curriculums for teenage girls and for those who work with teenage girls in the church. As she is beginning a new position as the director of student ministries at her church, receiving this $6,000 scholarship will allow her to continue her master’s degree program, which will better equip her to continue her ministry in the church.
