Donor Impact
Kathryn and David Hendricks
David Hendricks
Graduation year: 2019
Majors:Theology and Math
Hometown:Mercer Island, Wash.
I was born in Dilla, Ethiopia, and I lived there and a couple of other places during my early years.
I first decided to attend Whitworth because I wanted to graduate high school early and I needed to apply to a school with rolling admissions. I decided that Whitworth was a logical choice because my sister attended here, and I knew that I would receive a good education. Also, I could always do the pre-engineering program and transfer in three years to another school, where I could study to be a mechanical engineer and make a substantial income. God used these relatively insignificant reasons to draw me to Whitworth, because I was not ready to know His true plan for my life at that point. Over the next several months, my heart was completely transformed by God, and after my first semester at Whitworth, I came to love Whitworth itself because of the powerful education of mind and heart that I was so blessed to have access to. I realized that I did not want to be an engineer anymore, and that whatever I did, I would make it fully committed to Christ. I have now changed my major to two majors – math and theology – and I hope to teach math in the mission field in places where education is inaccessible to many. God has taken my insignificant reasons for coming to Whitworth and transformed them into a part of His glorious plan.
One day, in my Biblical Themes of Shalom class, in Hawaii, a complete shift in my outlook on faith and my life began to take place. We were going through Galatians and Ephesians as a class, and my professor, Terry McGonigal, was discussing Paul’s focus on the transformative power of faith, and life in the spirit, and how those relate to shalom. For the first time ever, I realized that the power of Christ’s resurrection actually enables us to live the kind of life Christ lived on Earth, and that, in fact, this was Christ’s intent: to restore the ability in humankind to perfectly bear the image of God as He did, and as we were created to do. That moment in a Whitworth theology lecture has led me down a path of more and more complete surrender of my life to Christ, and more complete focus and dependence on Him. And this is a path that I will continue to walk for the rest of my life, by the grace of God.
I never would have had the opportunity to attend the Freshman Honors Jan Term Study Program in Hawaii without the financial support of generous donors. Biblical Themes of Shalom has completely changed my outlook on my faith and my purpose, and I owe that to the work of God in my mind and heart, and also to the selfless generosity of donors.
Donors, thank you so much for making the Whitworth experience possible for me and for countless other students! God is alive and working in and through this campus, its professors, and its students, and donors like you are a crucial part of that! Thank you for the transformative role you have played in my life!
Kathryn Hendricks
Graduation year: 2016
Majors: Theology & Ministerial Leadership
Hometown: Mercer Island, Wash.
Without the incredible generosity from donors, my Whitworth experience would have been impossible. The opportunity for me to attend this university is only achievable because of the remarkable support of alumni and donors. However, not only has my education been made possible by financial aid, but many of my most transforming experiences at Whitworth were made possible by generous donors. I would not have been able to deepen my education through study-abroad experiences in Costa Rica and Greece without this support. These opportunities have opened my eyes to the breadth and depth of my discipline, while they've also strengthened my faith in God and my purpose in His mission.
One of the most extraordinary moments I can remember from my Whitworth experience was during a meeting with one of my professors over coffee. We were casually talking about my background, interests, family, and studies, when all of a sudden, he asked me a simple yet profound question: "What do you love?" I sat for a moment before rattling off a list of hobbies, passions, and interests that I have discovered during my time at Whitworth. My professor nodded, smiled, and then asked, "How are you going to spend your life serving God through that?" This was the moment when I realized the real purpose behind my Whitworth education: to take what I have learned inside and outside of the classroom, and to use it to glorify God and build His Kingdom. In addition to an exceptional education, Whitworth has given me a lens through which I can serve something greater than myself. In part from this interaction with my professor, and in part through many similar conversations with others, I have decided to focus my career on college ministry and outreach.
Words cannot describe how thankful I am for your support of this university and your desire to make a Whitworth education possible for students like me. I can say without a doubt that my time as a Whitworthian has been instrumental in sculpting my view of the world, my relationship with Christ, and my role in growing His Kingdom. Thank you for believing in the mission of this university and for making a Whitworth education become reality for students like me.