Clayton and Adria Libolt

As students in the late 1960s, Adria and Clayton Libolt were introduced to such riches of literature and history that the pleasures of reading and writing became for them a lifelong joy. If, as Frederick Buechner famously said, our vocation is “where our deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet,” they have been blessed to find vocations where their own gladness and some of the world’s hunger do indeed meet. After they graduated from Calvin College (and Clay from Calvin Theological Seminary) they both attended the University of Michigan, where Clay received a PhD in Near Eastern Studies with a concentrate in biblical history. He went on to become the long-time pastor of River Terrace Church in East Lansing, Michigan. While at Michigan, Adria received a MA in Education. She taught at the secondary and community college levels, but she spent her career in management and administration in the Michigan Department of Corrections. After she retired, she spent several years working in adult literacy.
The Libolts believe that Calvin College helped to form their faith and their perspective on the world. In gratitude for the way that Calvin encouraged them to ask questions and not to be satisfied with easy answers, they hope that students will come to Calvin and receive, as they did, an education that will deepen and broaden their faith. They therefore establish this scholarship for students who have a passionate desire to learn, an openness to new perspectives, and a faith that, in the words of Micah, leads them to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.
Clay and Adria come from humble beginnings. They worked hard while they were at Calvin to pay for their educations. Because they came from the Pacific Northwest, which at the time they were at Calvin seemed distant, they also appreciate the extra financial challenges that students from such places face. They have therefore established this scholarship to support students from the Pacific Northwest with a preference for those who have financial needs.