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![\"ABF](\"https://www.albertbakerfund.org/files/2025/12/ABF-scholarship-recipients-gathered-at-The-Mother-Church-at-Annual-Meeting-June-2025.jpg\")
Dear friends,
\nWe at The Albert Baker Fund love supporting our scholarship recipients, and contributions from our generous donors\u00a0 make it all possible.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t be more grateful!\u00a0 We\u2019ve been able to bless 407 students this year, here in the United States, as well as in Europe, Canada, the Philippines, and eleven countries in Africa.\u00a0 Your generosity is blessing the world through our dear scholarship recipients!
\nI suspect you might have a good idea of how much it means to our students of Christian Science to receive a scholarship that allows them to further their education. But we thought you\u2019d enjoy hearing straight from the students:
\n\u201cI truly cannot put into words how grateful I am for The Albert Baker Fund\u2019s support over these last four years. My college experience would not have been possible for me or my family without your continued support and encouragement.\u201d
\n\u201cI appreciate all of ABF\u2019s work not just in my own life but in everyone else\u2019s who you all have helped. It means a lot. You are a great organization.\u201d
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ABF scholarship recipients gathered at The Mother Church at Annual Meeting, June 2025.
\n\u201cI am deeply grateful for The Albert Baker Fund\u2019s support, which allowed me to pursue my graduate degree while balancing my commitments as a faculty member, study abroad director, and parent.\u00a0 This journey has reinforced my commitment to education as a force for good, and I look forward to paying forward the generosity I have received by mentoring and supporting future scholars in their own transformative learning paths.\u201d\u00a0
\nAnd from a Christian Science nursing student in Africa: \u00a0\u201cYour financial aid has relieved a significant burden off my shoulders, enabling me to focus on my academics without excess financial strain.\u00a0 I assure you that I am making the utmost use of this aid and striving towards academic excellence.\u00a0 I truly appreciate your trust and confidence in me.\u201d
\nClick here to Invest in the Education of Christian Science Students!
\nThese are just a few examples of the gratitude from the very students you help support.\u00a0 We are so grateful to you for being the foundation of our efforts to invest in the education of Christian Science students.
\nThank you for your essential role in helping us fulfill our mission!
\nGratefully,
\n![\"Sue](\"https://www.albertbakerfund.org/files/2025/12/Sue_Ellen_signature.jpg\")
Sue Ellen Coughtry\u00a0l\u00a0Chief Advancement Officer
\nThe Albert Baker Fund
\n111 Woodmere Road, Suite 210
\nFolsom, CA 95630
\nOffice: 916.594.9513
\nsueellen.coughtry@
![\"Embracing](\"https://www.albertbakerfund.org/files/2022/10/Aly-Mikesell-letter.jpg\")
\nDear Friends of The Albert Baker Fund,
\nHave you thought about today\u2019s young Christian Scientists as the new generation of healers?
\nI realized this when reading their scholarship applications this summer. Each student shared how they use Christian Science in their daily life and how healings have brought them peace, guidance, and solutions to their needs. I continue to be inspired by their devotion to Christian Science and their desire to grow spiritually.
\nOne of these students is Aly Mikesell of Missouri. Aly is a junior at Baylor University, a Christian university in Texas where she is one of two Christian Scientists on a campus of 20,000 students!
\nMake a gift to support students like Aly!
\nHere\u2019s her remarkable story of how her experience at Baylor helped her grow as a student, and as a Christian Scientist\u2014far beyond what she might have imagined.
\nAly shares with us:
\n\n\n\u201cBaylor wasn\u2019t my first choice. But it was the only school I applied to that was going to be open and have in-person classes in the fall of 2020, so that\u2019s how I made my decision to go there!
\nMy first year I was a bit lost, praying to find my place in this new and unfamiliar environment. But ultimately, Baylor was the right fit for me\u2014both academically and spiritually. Now I can honestly say I wouldn\u2019t want to be anywhere else!
\nTwo things happened that changed everything for me at Baylor. First, in my sophomore year, I found my major\u2014Baylor\u2019s Professional Selling program. It\u2019s very challenging and gives me real-world experience. Interesting fact: this major wasn\u2019t available at any of the other schools where I was accepted!
\nThe second thing that changed was my thinking about my Baylor peers. It was too easy to focus on the religious differences between my fellow Christian students and me. I didn\u2019t see people I could talk with about the challenges I was facing.
\nThat\u2019s when I began to realize I needed to learn how to talk to people from different Christian backgrounds. Instead of dwelling on our differences, I needed to find our similarities. When I did that, I found that I was genuinely sharing and having uplifting conversations.
\nI also find ways to share the absolute truths of Christian Science. When friends ask for support, I constantly remind them, \u2018You are a perfect child of God. God doesn\u2019t see any imperfection in you.\u2019 That is something they haven\u2019t heard before, but they accept it and want to hear it.
\nYou might wonder if being surrounded by so many people of different religions has caused me to question what I\u2019ve learned in Christian Science. Far from it! Being exposed to different religions has reaffirmed what I believe. I have had many healings while here at Baylor. I know firsthand that Christian Science works and that it is the truth.\u201d\n
In closing, we asked Aly what she would want to say to ABF donors about the impact of her Albert Baker Scholarships each year at Baylor.
\n\n\n\u201cI definitely wouldn\u2019t be here if I didn\u2019t have resources like The Albert Baker Fund to support my education. And not just with financial resources but with career resources. Thank you for providing a community of Christian Scientists who share how they live Christian Science in their careers and are reaching out to the next generation!\u201d\n
Make a gift to support students like Aly!
\nAly is only one of more than 400 young dedicated Christian Scientists who need our scholarships to help fund their college education. Please join with us today and make a gift to support this new generation of healers!
\nWith deep gratitude,
\n![\"Signed,](\"https://www.albertbakerfund.org/files/2020/04/JosephRitter_sig-600x116.jpg\")
\nDr. Joseph M. Ritter
\nChief Executive Officer
PS: With your help, we can continue to award each student a $4,500 scholarship next year.
\n![\"Paige](\"https://www.albertbakerfund.org/files/2021/11/Paige_Lesko_header.jpg\")
Look at what we have accomplished together this year! More than 540 young Christian Scientists received an Albert\u00a0Baker scholarship to attend college or train as a Christian Science nurse.
\nAnd today educating young Christian Scientists is more important than ever. By investing in their education, you are preparing them to fulfill God\u2019s purpose for them in the world.
\nMake an online donation today!
\nThe knowledge they gain in college prepares them to serve in decision and policy-making roles in business, academia, and public service. And a number of these students go on to work at The Mother Church to support the global healing mission of our church. Serving in these roles, these young students have the opportunity to share the leaven of Truth with others.
\nPaige Lesko, an Albert Baker scholarship recipient, is a student who is preparing in this way for her future. Paige is in her senior year at Principia College where she is majoring in mass communications and minoring in music and political science. She is an outstanding academic student, scholar-athlete, and dedicated Christian Scientist.
\nPaige joined her Christian Science Society as a teenager, a time when young people might be tempted to turn away from church and religion. What made the difference for Paige? She emphatically responded:
\n\n\u201cThe healing power of God! Being able to see healing and have healing, through understanding my relationship to God. I could never give that up! The daily inspiration I get from reading the Bible Lesson and sharing Christian Science with others is very special to me.\u201d
This summer Paige interned at The Mother Church in the Office of the Publisher\u2019s Agent. She said:
\n\n\u201cStudying the Church Manual was the foundation for my work this summer. The Publisher\u2019s Agent works really hard to make sure that the writings of Mary Baker Eddy are accessible around the world. This opened my eyes to see that Christian Science is both universal and global.\u201d
When Paige was asked about her long-term career goal, she shared:
\n\n\u201cMy prayer is about finding the right workplace atmosphere. For me, it\u2019s not about what I\u2019m doing but what I\u2019m working toward. I want to make sure that the cause I am working for is doing good for the world and blessing others. That\u2019s what\u2019s important to me!\u201d
Paige is one of the many Albert Baker Fund scholarship recipients attending college in the US and Canada who are learning to be better thinkers and fulfill their God-given purpose in the world.
\nYour past gifts have made an extraordinary difference to these young Christian Scientists who rely on an Albert Baker scholarship to help pay for their college education.
\nPlease join with us today and make a gift to support deserving students like Paige in the upcoming year!
\nMake an online donation today!
\nWith deep gratitude,
\n![\"Signed,](\"https://www.albertbakerfund.org/files/2021/11/Adam_Messer_sig.png\")
PS: A special thank-you from Paige:
\n\u201cWords can\u2019t do justice to the amount of gratitude I feel to The Albert Baker Fund donors for my scholarship! I hope someday I can pay it forward for others.\u201d
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