I spoke with one of the nicest customers I have ever known today. I’ll call him George.
I have know George for about three years. He is retired career Navy, a graduate of the Naval Academy.
Normally, when I have had the honor to meet graduates of our U.S. Military Academies, I notice a certain inner confidence. This confidence verges on the border of arrogance, without just quite reaching it. But with George, if I had never had the honor to clean his Naval Academy ring, I most likely would have never found out that he fought for our country. He is quite arguably the most humble man I have ever met.
As we talked today George shared with me how excited he was that a scholarship fund he and his wife set up over a decade ago, had finally grown large enough in financial size that it could pay for two college students to go to school. Again, remember, George is arguably the most humble man I have every met. He was not bragging. George explained to me that he and his wife wanted to help college students who may not have the money to go to school, go to school.
In South Carolina we have something called the Life Scholarship. I am not sure about the exact details, but I believe it is something like this: If you are a resident of South Carolina attending a state run university and maintain a 3.5 GPA, you will receive the Life Scholarship which will pay for your tuition. What often happens with Life Scholarship recipients is that they fail to maintain the required GPA, and because they cannot afford tuition, they drop out of school.
As I was speaking with George today he explained that he and his wife set up their scholarship to help those students who were good students, but for whatever reason they lost their Life Scholarship. George’s scholarship pays for 3 semesters of school, allowing the student time to get his or her grades back above the required GPA so that the student can re-qualify for the Life Scholarship.
As our conversation wound down to the end, George said to me, “F + I = M.” George asked me if I knew what that meant. I did not.
George explained that he had that formula in his hat the entire time he was at the Naval Academy. F + I = M
George did not offer to tell me what F + I = M meant. I asked.
Fear + Incentive = Motivation
George explained that is why he and his wife set up their scholarship. They had learned about good students dropping out of school because they could not afford tuition. George said it broke his heart that solid students dropped out of college because they lost their Life Scholarship. He and his wife wanted to change that… and they do.
George explained he doesn’t want to give anyone a free ride, but he wants to teach this generation the formula that worked so well for him.
When the fear hits that student who loses his/her Life Scholarship, George steps in with an incentive to get the scholarship back, and in turn George prays that the student finds the motivation to go and get his/her Life Scholarship.
God bless George and the many other men and women who are like him.
