by Brooke Reynolds

In 1996, a young man named Brad Ehrlichman and his family were Northview Church attendees at the time when Brad was killed in a plane crash. He was on a ValuJet leaving south Florida on May 11, 1996, and it crashed in the Everglades, killing all 104 passengers and 5 crewmembers on board. A tree was planted on Northview’s property in Brad’s memory, and a stone bench with his name sits next to it.

“Brad’s family chose to honor his memory with the scholarship because Brad himself had been able to attend college because of a gift from an anonymous individual,” Judy Golden, North Beach Ministry Assistant, said.

Each year, the North Beach pastors seek one high school senior who stands out as a worthy recipient of the Brad Ehrlichman scholarship. The selection committee looks for a student who has been active in Northview Student Ministry. They’re also interested in someone whose family’s financial circumstances would limit his opportunity to go to college, Golden said.

This year, Luke Boyer was the deserving 2010 winner of the $2,000 college scholarship money.

“Luke is well-grounded and faithful,” Dave Choutka, Student Ministry Pastor, said. “He’s one kid that you can’t help but like. He was chosen because he’s been connected, faithful and embodies great character. He’s also been involved in small groups and attended and served on retreats. We knew this scholarship would help him and his family for his college career.”

Luke started his freshman year at Ball State this August. He is majoring in finance and minor in Spanish. With the burden of the textbooks that come along with his studies, Luke said he would use the scholarship money to pay for his books.

“I just wanted so badly to be the person who was meant to get the scholarship,” Luke said. “In my application, I tried to be sincere. I wrote in my essay that I center everything in my life around my relationship with God. I also wrote that I worked at O’Malia’s grocery store and mowed lawns to save up money for college, but wasn’t able to keep as much of the money as I’d hoped.”

Luke said he’s looking forward to getting involved with CRU on campus, and he also plans to find a local church home in Muncie.

“I’ve always heard about the relationships you can build in college. With CRU, I’m looking forward to finding my true brothers and sisters in Christ,” Luke said. “But mainly, I’m just excited to see where God is taking me in this world.”