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2/29/2012 - Alumna Establishes Scholarship at Judson College to Benefit Big Oak Girls Ranch
By Michael J. Brooks
Fay Pridgen Kelsoe of Memphis graduated from Judson College in 1983, and now she wants to give this opportunity to other young women. She and her husband, Jim, have established a scholarship in honor of Fay's uncle and aunt, the late W.S. and Sadie Newell who were former Marion residents.
"My aunt was the strongest and greatest Christian I ever knew," Fay Kelsoe said. "She lived in Marion but wasn't able to attend Judson. When I was in high school she convinced me that I should attend and get what she never did." W.S. "Billy" Newell also served as a Judson trustee.
Kelsoe, a Columbus, Ga. native, studied management information systems and retail management and design at Judson and said she had advantages that wouldn't have been possible at a larger school. "I think I'd have been caught up in the trappings of a large university," she said. "There wasn't much time to be a bystander at Judson. We jumped right in and did what needed to be done. I think I became assertive!" Jim Kelsoe agreed with his wife, pointing out that she'd homeschooled their three children, organized an area home school swim team and superintended an annual budget of $250,000 for the organization. Jim Kelsoe, who grew up in Opp, is an independent investor in Memphis. The Kelsoe scholarship will provide annual support for a Judson student with first preference to those from the Big Oak Girls Ranch in Springville, Ala. Big Oak founder and Executive Director John Croyle visited Judson with the Kelsoes on Feb. 17. Fay Kelsoe said that Judson gave her confidence to "raise three godly children in an ungodly world," and she's happy to be part of providing Christian education to other young people.
Pictured are (from left) Judson College president Dr. David Potts, Jim and Fay Kelsoe and Big Oak Ranch Executive Director John Croyle. Photo by Bill Mathews
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