Dreams and Dollars

“Giving a scholarship to an international student is giving them the world.” Rev. Juliet Chirowa doesn’t mince words when talking about the barriers people face when seeking to study in the U.S., and the impact of donors’ generosity. “It makes life manageable; you only need to find money for accommodation and food. If I had to fund the whole program without a scholarship, I wouldn’t be here today.”

Prior to attending Garrett, Rev. Chirowa served as a pastor in Zimbabwe for 29 years. In that work, she had become acutely aware of a need and desire to learn more about pastoral care, to better walk beside her congregation. “I’ve always been a person who aligns with suffering people,” she explains. “Yes, part of being a pastor is sharing the Word. But what I love most about ministry is offering presence to those going through trauma, those who are sick—to help anyone enduring challenges know they are not alone.” The scope and magnitude of that pain, however, requires more than a compassionate heart—she needed training as a chaplain. “I knew the United States was foundational in the field of pastoral care and counseling, especially Clinical Pastoral Education” she says, “and particularly wanted to learn from the expertise here at Garrett.” But turning that dream into a reality is easier said than done.

“Even just accessing the information is a real challenge,” she explains. “Most of us in Zimbabwe don’t have computers. And that’s before you get into the difficulty of navigating the immigration office to apply for a visa.” While Garrett’s admissions team was able to assist her in the process, there are structural hurdles that the U.S. demands from anyone seeking to obtain a student visa. “You need money to do that,” she continues. “You need to have all your information at your fingertips, and even after all of that, you’re going to be coming to the United States with the last dollar in your pocket.” For someone like Rev. Chirowa, who also needs to fund her three children’s education, it takes an entire community’s resources and support to pursue a masters degree, even with a scholarship. Despite her diligence jumping through the State Department’s many hoops, she was still denied a visa in her first year. Fortunately, Garrett’s expansion of online, accessible classes meant she wasn’t forced to defer her dreams. “Garrett helped me access books and classes online that first year,” she says. “They even gave me mock visa interviews with the dean so I could prepare, walking beside me while I was still in Zimbabwe.”

That diligence paid off: Her second year, Rev. Chirowa secured the visa she needed to study in Evanston. “Student Life prepared everything for my landing,” she says with joy. “A student picked me up from the airport. When I got to my room, I had sheets for my bed, blankets to sleep on, a full refrigerator that fed me those first few days.” Programs like Eliza’s Kitchen and Closet offer yet more assistance: free winter gear, household appliances, and other essentials for on-campus living.

All this support costs money to offer and sustain, but Garrett is blessed with alums and friends who are passionate about ensuring that material obstacles don’t stand between folks like Rev. Chirowa and their ministry. Peggy Ferrell attended Garrett for a year, where she also met her late husband, Rev. Charles Ferrell (GTS ’54). “Those classes at Garrett prepared me so well for my life as a minister’s wife, in addition to my own continued studies,” she says. “But more than that, Charlie and I were blessed with lifelong friendships made at Garrett. My three seminary roommates and I not only met our husbands at Garrett, but also remained close no matter the geographical distance, and for 7 decades were caring sounding boards for each other.” When the Ferrells considered how they could honor their deep gratitude, they felt powerfully called to pay it forward to the next generation of clergy. Therefore, they funded an endowed scholarship in their names.

“Charlie and I always kept our eyes out for what we were able to do. We knew we were not going to save the world, but that’s not our assignment. Thankfully, God put someone else in charge of that,” she laughs. “I still look for ways I can be of service to God and that’s why I gave to support Garrett’s international students. We had international students live with us many times over the years”. She recalls fondly an experience of using the Bible to transcend a language barrier. “The woman didn’t speak English, I didn’t speak Albanian, and we were alone. What could we do?” Ferrell remembers. “The woman brought out her Albanian Bible and would point to scriptures that were meaningful to her, and I would do the same—that’s how we conversed. After a few exchanges, the Albanian woman put her hands together and looked toward the sky, offering the few English words she knew: ‘Thank you, Jesus.’ It was quite a touching thing.”

Moved by this experience and others, Ferrell made a significant donation to support Garrett’s international students at a critical juncture when that generosity is needed more than ever. “I see students caught in emergency situations not of their own doing and I thought, ‘Aha, God is telling me that I can do something about that,’” she says. “It may not be everything, but God takes what we can offer and increases it by grace. That’s what makes life exciting.” Through gifts from the Ferrells and many others, Garrett can offer significant scholarships to students like Rev. Chirowa that make a difficult dream an attainable reality. “We are coming from poor communities and cannot afford those fees for ourselves,” Rev. Chirowa notes. “A scholarship lifts that burden.” For Ferrell, it also creates at Garrett the kind of learning environment God desires. “Obviously, God loves diversity,” she quips. That’s why we can pick a variety of flowers and form a beautiful bouquet. And, when we rotate crops, we get a healthier soil. If you go through your life only seeing things from one perspective, all you’ll ever see are the walls of your own tunnel. We need students from all types of cultures to expand our view of God’s world.”

Increasing accessibility in theological higher education births community in which Rev. Chirowa can joyfully learn. “Garrett is a place where culture is not an issue,” she says with a smile. “It allows me to be who I am as much as I accommodate someone from somewhere else. When I looked on the website, I thought the absence of discrimination might just be words. But when I came here, I discovered it’s true: You feel so secure on campus.” After graduation, Rev. Chirowa wants to pursue additional pastoral care training in a local hospital but then wants to put those skills to use in her home country. It’s a journey that mirrors what Ferrell sought to seed with her gift. “My hope is that they will do God’s will for their lives wherever they are.” she concludes. “That’s certainly what our world needs.”

To learn more about how to give your gift and support students like Rev. Chirowa, visit our giving website.