Eva’s Academic Dream Has Become a Reality
Because of our Heart of the City donors, Eva Parker (right) is loving getting the chance to study creative writing at Seattle Pacific University.
Eva Parker is a graduate student at Seattle Pacific University, studying to receive her Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. As a five-time Heart of the City Foundation scholarship recipient, she is living her dream, thanks to the generosity of the donors who make these scholarships possible!
What challenges were you facing before you received your scholarship? How were you feeling?
Eva: Before I received my scholarship, I feared that my educational dreams would be limited solely on what I could afford. I had my sights set on my dream graduate school, Seattle Pacific University. I had been accepted to two other more affordable programs, but the program at Seattle Pacific was scripturally-based, focused on how to intertwine art and faith successfully in one’s writing career.
Since I am paying for graduate school entirely on my own and did not want to go into debt, I felt like I was going to have to say no to my dream program for financial reasons, which really broke my heart.
How do you feel now, going forward with your scholarship from the donors of the Heart of the City Foundation? What difference does this scholarship make in your life?
Eva: With graduate school, the Divines' generosity in providing $4000 for my first year covered almost an entire semester of school for me, truly making the dream a reality. This scholarship is the reason I'm able to attend Seattle Pacific and to receive theological training to work towards becoming a faith-based writer and editor.
I couldn't be receiving this education anywhere else, and I know that without the Divines' kindness, it would be completely impossible. It has been the biggest blessing!
What is your dream? What are you hoping to do with your life?
Eva: My dream is to write Christian books that are more literary than anything found in modern Christian publishing. As believers, our writing should be more than just ecumenical, theological lessons that get tied up in a neat bow at the end. Belief and faith is joyful, hard, messy, fun, trying, but so rewarding—and our artistry, as artists convicted by His love and mercy, should reflect this truth. And God Himself uses the Bible to tell stories of faith that are joyful, hard, messy, fun, trying, and rewarding—He is the ultimate Storyteller, the One whose creation inspires us to write and create on a daily basis.
Because of all these things, we as Christians should be the BEST artists out there. Our work should strive to reflect the ultimate creativity and beauty we see in God's work. This is my conviction, and my dream is to write literature that is true to my own experience and reflects God's heart for His people. It's a big dream, but I'm hoping that through my education at Seattle Pacific, I will be able to do it justice.
