Ken and Lois Stern

Ken '68 and Lois (Brandt) Stern '70 credit their parents and grandparents with modeling the spirit of giving and instilling in them a strong spirit of appreciation for the value of educational opportunities. Their families prioritized both tithing and giving of their time to the ministry of the church. Ken's father and grandfather were bi-vocational pastors, serving the spiritual needs of their communities while keeping up the rigorous duties of farming. As Ken and Lois grew up, they were impressed with the attitude of generosity displayed through their families, both in giving of their time and of their resources.

Lois fondly recalls the choirs and musical ensembles from Messiah that came to her church in Kansas, which fed her desire to go to Messiah. While there was a Christian college close to her hometown, Lois wanted to come to Messiah. Her parents dropped her off in Grantham for the fall '66 semester without ever having visited campus. While her mother only attended Messiah for a part of one semester, Lois thrived, graduating in 1970.

Ken's family legacy at Messiah goes back to 1928, when his father and Uncle came to Messiah Academy for their last two years of High School. During the winter term in 1929, while Ken's father and uncle were students at Messiah Academy, Ken's grandfather attended winter term, which was at least in part available for the training and equipping of pastors. Ken recalls that attendance at Messiah Academy and/or College was strongly encouraged or possibly even required for him and his siblings! What makes this noteworthy is that as a farming family, Ken's parents were giving of their time to allow their kids to attend school away from home and not have them home to help on the farm. The Stern family has been consistently represented at Messiah to this day through nieces, nephews, and now great nieces and nephews.

Ken and Lois dated as students and were married prior to Lois's senior year at Messiah. While Ken was working as a teacher in public school and taking classes towards a master's degree in education, Lois served as Residence Director in Hoffman Residence. This was just the beginning of their legacy of service and giving at Messiah.

As Ken and Lois moved through their careers as educators, they became aware of the distinct advantages they had been blessed with that others were not. A strong nuclear family among other factors had given them opportunities not experienced by some. They were also aware of the need for strong Christian educators in the public school systems. As they considered their response to these issues, they recalled their parents sacrifice of time and money to facilitate their college education. Their parents modeled the things they believed in. Ken and Lois followed the example of their parents and grandparents by creating an endowed scholarship at Messiah to honor that legacy. The A. Kenneth and Lois E. Stern Scholarship benefits students who are pursuing a career in public school education, creating an easier pathway to service for students desiring to impact future generations for Christ in the public school setting.

Since establishing the A. Kenneth and Lois E. Stern Scholarship, Ken and Lois have been instrumental in the creation of additional scholarship funds to honor retired faculty members Dr. E. Morris and Mrs. Leone Sider, and Ken's classmate Dr. John Yeatts. When asked why they participated in creating these scholarships, Ken and Lois felt that many of the faculty who have served at Messiah have passed up opportunities at public universities, which would have provided greater compensation. They felt that creating scholarship funds that honor the legacies of service by Drs. Sider and Yeatts is a fitting way to honor their service while blessing future generations of students.

In addition to their support of the mission and vision of Messiah University, Ken and Lois have partnered with friends to create an outdoor education camp in Oklahoma in honor of their son Aaron who was the victim of a tragic accident in 2007. This camp provides kids from the inner city and refugee communities with the opportunity to experience the beauty of nature.

Ken and Lois stressed that their gifts are a reflection of their appreciation for the value of what they have received not only from the excellent faculty at Messiah University, but also from their parents and grandparents. May we all reflect on the gifts entrusted to us, and in gratitude, honor those gifts by modeling service and generosity to the next generation.