Amish Success Stories
How an Amish Boy Became a Physicist, Part 3
Leon Hostetler graduating from Florida State University Today we bring you the conclusion of Leon Hostetler’s story. I first knew of him when he was writing a blog more than ten years ago before he started college and he was clearly upset, even bitter, that his schooling had been interrupted after the eighth grade. I…
Read MoreHow an Amish Boy Became a Physicist, Part 2
Photo by Leon Hostetler of his childhood home Leaving the Amish By Leon Hostetler By my mid-teens there was constant pressure from my parents and the larger community to formally join the Amish church. But how could I? The big picture was too fuzzy for me. I was not convinced that the Amish worldview…
Read MoreHow an Amish Boy Became a Physicist, Part 1
Today we bring you the incredible story of Leon Hostetler’s educational journey that took him from his Amish childhood to becoming postdoctoral fellow in the Physics Department at Indiana University. This story will be published in three parts. Early Life By Leon Hostetler As a young boy, I was fascinated with technology. This was…
Read MoreLearning How to Learn
We have been bringing you stories of current applicants of ADSF who have persevered to find their path to college or university. Today we bring you the remarkable story of Michael Walker, who grew up among the Swartzentruber Amish (the strictest of the strict) and became a software engineer. It is amazing that Michael has…
Read MoreObstacles as Valuable Lessons
Today we have another excellent story from current scholarship recipient Katie Fisher, and we hope you’ll enjoy reading it as much as we did. Katie has worked diligently to make progress toward her ideal career, and we’re delighted to have been able to support her along the way. Obstacles as Valuable Lessons By Katie Fisher…
Read More“A Character that is Truly My Own “
Below is another essay by one of our scholarship applicants. This one is more personal for me because I knew her mother as a child. Even though Ruth did not speak of her home life, I often wondered if the image her family projected of being “good Christians” was different than the life inside their…
Read MoreThe Gift of Learning
The ADSF team met to decide how to allocate the scholarship money to our record number of applicants this year — 19 in all. Reading the applications was an inspiring and moving part of our job as volunteers. One thing is for certain: those who have a childhood education limited to the eighth grade and…
Read MoreAn Example of What Is Possible
Today I am very honored to be introducing Freeman Miller, M.D. who is a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at Du Pont Children’s Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware. His curriculum vitae is impressive. After he received his Bachelors at the University of Colorado, he entered medical school (also at the University of Colorado). He did his post-doctoral training…
Read MoreThe Paradox of Worldly Knowledge
I’ve been enjoying the gathering of stories from former Amish people who have acquired formal education after leaving their respective communities. Today I’ll share a story of a former Amish couple in Holmes County, Ohio: Wayne and LaVina Weaver. I first met them at the Amish Conference at the Young Center in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in…
Read MoreRescued By an Amish Grandmother, Part 2
Last week I posted the first part of Freeman Kinsinger’s story, which I am continuing today. Also, for the personal connection I had with Freeman’s grandmother, see my post Memory Photos on my personal blog. Here is more of Freeman’s story. After my twenty-first birthday, I enrolled as a freshman at Eastern Mennonite College. My…
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