Steven Penn Bryan was a beloved husband and father who bravely followed his passions despite his age.
When Steve was 45 years old, he left his childhood passion of being an architect to go back to school to pursue a master's degree in counseling. This decision was costly, but Steve knew that too often, people don't get to enjoy the work that they do. Courageously changing paths allowed Steve to follow his true calling and leave this earth loving what he did. Steve was trained in Interpersonal Neurobiology and as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner who was passionate about integrating the mind, body, soul and spirit in his work.
This scholarship aims to honor the spirit of Steven Penn Bryan by supporting individuals who have changed paths decades into their careers in order to follow their true passions.
Any student who is in their late thirties or beyond and is pursuing a master's degree in counseling or a related field, such as social work, may apply for this scholarship.
To apply, tell us why you decided to go back to school to pursue this field and how this scholarship would help you reach your goals.
What helped you decide to go back to school and get your masters in counseling or a counseling-related field? How would these funds be helpful to you? How do you plan to integrate mind, body, soul and spirit into your work?
Four graduate schools. I was accepted to the first in March of 2017 and one month later discovered my husband and I were unexpectedly expecting our 6th child. I was not ready to do graduate school with 5 school age children and a newborn, so I withdrew. When that sweet babe was two years old, I was accepted to the second graduate school and completed a semester (with honors). Then? Covid hit, and 4 of our children came home from elementary and middle school to receive online instruction. That was the end of that program. Two years later I applied to my Alma Mater and was accepted. One month later the school itself closed down their entire Social Work department completely, letting go all of their professors. Needless to say, I was unable to begin.
By the time I applied to my fourth graduate school, I had lost a lot of confidence. Was God telling me to stay home? I just couldn't believe that. I had dreamed of doing individual and family therapy since I was in my late teens and early twenties. My own marriage and children took priority in my twenties so I had not completed the necessary M.S. degree back then. Yet, here I was, twenty years later aiming for a Master's degree and it seemed like the universe was working hard to keep me from completing it. However, from a young age that God would make me a person who perseveres, I even have the old journal entries to prove it. It seemed fitting that this process of becoming a counselor of others should have plenty of obstacles in it for me. So I simply kept pursuing it.
Today, I am more than half way through my M.S. in Clinical Social Work and currently working with homeless single mothers. During my postpartum time, I wrote the business plan for my long term dream, a Community Resource Organization that I call The Trestle House. It is a unique concept aimed to strengthen the resiliency of families by doing the monotonous parts of life together: laundry, meal time, childcare; a space where families can come and spend the day together, being productive and helping younger, sleep deprived parents rest and receive wisdom from older, experienced community members. This would be a multi-generational space where children are encouraged to eat with their parents and seniors come and function like mentors. In-house, private counseling services would be available for those times when the community needs to outsource the support. My dream is to provide community therapy through friendship and relationship.
I am earning my degree in Clinical Social Work so that I can intelligently speak to the dynamics of both the individual psyche and how it fits into and benefits by community, even unpolished. I believe this is the most holistic way to tend to the mind, body and soul of a client. We were created to connect and are always stronger for it.
I received a BS in Biology in 2009 with the thought that I would go straight to medical school after undergrad. My junior year of college, having a 20 year career plan already sketched out, I heard God tell me that "I care more about who you are than what you do". This thought changed my life forever. I immediately surrendered my life long plan to be a surgeon and went to seminary to pursue a life of missions among the hardest to reach peoples. I lived in India and Italy for a total of 10 years, operating a small non profit focused on serving refugees and impoverished people. The desire of my heart during those years was to bring healing to those affected by evil. I became an avid reader and took courses online to learn more about how to help people work through emotional wounds and traumas. I quickly found a deeply rooted passion in this area.
I spend years in Italy working on the street with traumatized young men trying to find a way to serve them and get them on their feet. I gained a lot of respect among the community of Afghans and West Africans but I still did not have the answer on how to help these young men overcome the fear and shame that they felt. My family and I decided to move back to the States and this helped me land a position as a case worker and counselor. I immediately sensed a feeling of relief and joy as I jumped into the new role working with teenagers in foster care. The learning curve has been steep but immensely enjoyable. After a year of this work I knew I needed to take this to the next level by getting a Masters in this field of study to become more effective and knowledgeable.
The funds from this scholarship would help ease the financial pressure on my family. We decided 10 years ago when we got married that we wouldn't take out any loans other than a mortgage. So far we have lived up to this and now is no different. We have trusted God through incredible financial strains only to see him come through with financial provision. When he gives the vision he also provides the provision.
This essay asks the question: "How do you plan to integrate mind, body, soul, and spirit into your work?" I love this question because I see this progression all through my life. I originally had a burning passion to help heal the body so I studied to be a doctor and that is how all my friends and family knew me, so when I told them I wasn't going to medical school after all, they were surprised yet confirmed the decision. Then I threw myself into deepening my faith in Jesus and learning how he heals the spirit. Now, I get to focus in on the soul and mind of a person. Mental health, counseling, and therapy have become a passion of mine, however, I intend to integrate it with the before mentioned personal experiences that God has given me in the areas of physical and spiritual health. "Healed people, heal people", so as God takes me on the journey of personal wholeness, I will have the opportunity and joy to heal others.
The ears of a small child should never have to hear the shrilling screams of her mom for rescue from evil men. Her eyes should never witness knives, punches, bruises, cuts, and blood from their enraged hands. Her mouth should never utter routine pleading, “Please God, do not let my mom die!” as she cries alone through the chaos. Her little body was never meant to live in such fear and terror. This was my childhood experience and, sadly, many others live through the horrors of childhood abuse.
My first helpful counseling experience came at age 28. I sat frozen and stiff on a couch across from a gentle and patient man who fished for words to know me. Despite his efforts, I sat silent. Childhood abuse had stolen my voice and shattered my heart. But I trusted him more than I had trusted others. Our sessions took a turn when he recognized the value of creative expression and encouraged me to speak through art. He entered my story as a compassionate witness as I shared these works with him. Regaining my voice, I found a vocabulary for pain and expressed my heartache. Profound healing took place as we began to speak the unspeakable. Through counseling, God continues to bring light into the darkness of chronic depression and complex trauma resulting from the reign of alcoholic abusive men during my childhood. I believe that Christ entered my bleakest places, rescued me, and brought me into His light. He has done this through counseling. I want to follow Christ into places of despair and provide safe spaces filled with hope and freedom in His healing presence to others.
At forty-seven, I recently completed my first semester of graduate school pursuing a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health at Liberty University with a 4.0. Starting a new career at this stage of life brings unique challenges, but in God's perfect timing, He has taken the first twenty years of my adult life to heal and prepare me to bring healing to others.
I will follow a holistic approach to healing. The mind, body, soul, and spirit work together intricately forming a person and impacting their experience of life. They are intertwined and intimately relate to and impact one another. The pain and trauma held in the body need healing for a person to flourish. As a Christian, I will rely on the work of God’s Spirit in me and in those I serve as I walk with them. I am cautious against the reductionistic spirituality of offering trite spiritual sayings and I am guarded against offering hope that merely reduces symptoms without offering deep healing. I believe that the best healing comes when proven methods and scientific discoveries about the mind and body merge with faith and trust in God’s tender care. I intend to practice as a Christian counselor, and will also respect and honor each person’s unique stance towards faith. I will use a holistic approach specializing in expressive arts, EMDR, somatic, and Cognitive Behavior therapies.
Pursuing further education while raising two teenagers proves financially stressful. This scholarship would bless me and my family and lessen our financial strain. With funds covering a significant amount of tuition, it would free me to continue my studies and also be present with my children.
Throughout life, my ears and eyes have witnessed great evil and my body has carried deep pain. God redeems my story as He leads me to follow Him and extend hope as I hear and see others who suffer and long for hope and healing.
My name is Richie Anderson, I’m 41 years old and currently enrolled in the Professional Counseling graduate program at Amridge University. My wife and I have been married for 20 years, we have a 16-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son.
I started thinking about going into counseling while I was serving in the United States Air Force. When I enlisted the plan was to complete one six-year contract to gain some stability for my then-young family, but when my wife and I learned I could retire at the age of 46, we decided to make it a 20-year career. As my career progressed, I set the goal for myself to achieve the rank of at least Master Sergeant (E-7) and apply to become a First Sergeant. A First Sergeant’s job is to support and be the voice of the enlisted personnel to the commander. This wanting to take care of people eventually led me to consider counseling as a career after I retired.
The 20-year career plan didn’t pan out for me, I left active duty at the end of my six-year enlistment and joined the Air Force Reserve to start a career in youth ministry. I had already begun working toward a Bachelor of Science in Bible/Ministry at Amridge University while on active duty and completed it while serving in youth ministry and in the Reserve. I exhausted my Post 9/11 GI Bill benefit after the Summer 2023 semester. I have four semesters left, which led me to find the Steven Penn Bryan scholarship. I’m on track to begin my internship in the Spring 2024 semester and complete coursework after the Fall semester.
Since working in ministry, I moved on to work as a mental health case manager at Centerstone of Tennessee and am currently still employed at Centerstone as a crisis care consultant, supporting people in crisis for Centerstone’s crisis services as well as Lifeline (988) and NFL Lifeline.
I plan to integrate soul and spirit into my work by having a Christ-informed mindset, not Christian counseling outright, but by letting Jesus’ example of love and compassion guide me in how I work with people to help them heal and move forward. My experience in the military has led me to be very interested in EMDR as a treatment for trauma, that will integrate mind and body. However, I was recently introduced to Somatic Experiencing this semester in the Counseling for Abusive Relationship course, and am very interested in learning more. I plan to use Reality Therapy to bring all these pieces together.
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The application deadline is Jan 15, 2025. Winners will be announced on Feb 15, 2025.
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What is the scholarship award?
Award amounts per winner are designated by the donor. Check the award amount for a detailed breakdown.
When will the scholarship winner be chosen? How will they be notified?
The winner will be publicly announced on Feb 15, 2025. Prior to the announcement date, we may contact finalists with additional questions about their application. We will work with donors to review all applications according to the scholarship criteria. Winners will be chosen based on the merit of their application.
How will the scholarship award be paid?
Award checks will be sent to the financial aid office of the winner's academic institution in their name to be applied to their tuition, and in the name of their institution (depending on the school's requirements). If the award is for a qualified educational non-tuition expense, we will work with the winner directly to distribute the award and make sure it goes towards qualified expenses.
How will my scholarship application be verified?
Before we award the scholarship, the winner will be required to confirm their academic enrollment status. Depending on the circumstances, verification of Student ID and/or their most recent transcript will be required.
How should I get in touch with questions?
If you have any questions about this scholarship or the Bold.org platform, just email contact@bold.org and we’ll get back to you as quickly as we can.
Does the scholarship have terms and conditions?
Yes. The terms and conditions for this scholarship can be found here.