Multicultural Scholarship

EMS vision: We aspire to reflect Christ's light as a learning community where every student belongs, thrives, and lives God's call.

EMS is located in one of the most diverse cities in the state of Virginia. The Multicultural Scholarship helps us to increase the number of races, ethnicities, cultures and traditions in our school and to more closely reflect the make up of our city and the surrounding area.

Recognizing that tuition can be a barrier, donors to the Multicultural Endowed Scholarship Fund want to make EMS accessible to more families with diverse backgrounds.

The scholarship is available to any age student. Requests for support from this scholarship exceed the funds available every year. Applicants should complete the admissions process and FACTS tuition assistance application, and be ready to share about their desire to join the school community.

Return to the scholarships page.

To be considered, please: 

  1. Submit the online EMS enrollment application by February 28. Eligible students will be entering any grade level. Additional documents are also required for admission and include references and school transcripts.
  2. Complete the FACTS tuition assistance application, opens February 1, to demonstrate financial need. Recipients of this scholarship may receive this funding in addition to a discounted tuition rate*.
  3. Deadline for this scholarship is February 28. One or more recipients of this scholarship will be chosen as long as funding is available. Recipients will be notified starting March 15.

*Tuition rate is calculated based on published tuition rate minus any reductions in tuition. Scholarship discount will be applied after any reductions in tuition are calculated. 

Funding the endowed fund

The Multicultural Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 2020 under the name "Students of Color Fund." A review of that name in fall of 2022 led to the updated name, Multicultural Fund.

The fund came about as the school  sought more tangible ways to address racial inequities and barriers in the culture at large and at EMS in particular.

Thanks to seed money planted nearly 30 years ago, the endowed fund was quickly established. The original endowment was established in the early 1990s to enable Laotian immigrant students from a local Mennonite church to attend EMHS. The family that provided the seed money was happy, when approached in late 2020, to see the scope broadened to include support for students of color from any ethnic background.

Earnings from the endowment have been tapped as part of the school’s routine financial aid process over the years; broadening it as a scholarship will, the school hopes, invite more donor support, as well as make it more accessible to a broader group of applicants.

An unsolicited gift from Chuck Hostetter ’71 designated for students of color in summer 2020, prompted review of the original endowment, conversations with the founders, and revamp.

Hostetter was moved to send a gift to the school after running across a stack of letters in storage. The letters were sent to him by EMHS classmates while living with his family in Nigeria during his senior year.

“That support from peers meant so much,” he wrote. “I see now how my life trajectory took shape, influenced by other cultures. I’m grateful to support this fund in appreciation for what those EMHS friends meant to me, and to support the insights and gift to humanity people of color bring to school communities.”

Hostetter invites his classmates – who marked their 50-year class reunion in 2021 – to join him in supporting the scholarship.

Support the Scholarship

Gifts of any size to the fund may be mailed to the school at 801 Parkwood Drive, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22801, or by donating online (button above).

Designate the gift for the “Multicultural Scholarship Fund.”

Endowment funds sustain students beyond this generation, as earnings increase over time. Read more about planned giving here.