Cedarville University Financing Case Study

“I prayed for the Lord to give me clarity on what to choose and received what I believe was a word from the Lord to ask Coach King (at Cedarville University) if he could lower my tuition to $5,000 a year, then I would go there,” Watson said.

Watson had a strong conviction that God wanted her to graduate with minimal debt and Coach King agreed to speak with financial aid.

Through Coach King, financial aid and Watson’s obedience to God, she graduated with $7,000 in debt and paid it off in her first six months of marriage.

As Watson entered her freshman year at Cedarville, one of the top NAIA schools in the nation, she was hopeful, until unexpected news came at the end of cross country season.

Cedarville was transitioning to NCAA Division II

Watson approached the head track and field director at AIA about finding a coach for her.

AIA is a nonprofit sports organization and is the sports ministry for a college campus ministry known as, Cru, formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ.

Through connections with other sporting coaches and AIA, Watson was put in contact with David Dobson. He is Centerville High School’s head girls cross country and assistant boys and girls track and field.

Dobson had led his teams to 11 district championships, two state championships and an appearance at the Nike Cross Nationals. But he had never coached a collegiate or post-collegiate runner.

“It was a chance for me to try something new and, after talking on the phone, we both felt it was a good fit,” Dobson said.

Dobson, also a professing Christian, felt God had orchestrated the opportunity.

“Her Christian faith resonated with me and my family,” Dobson said. “I cannot always bring up my faith in a public school setting so it allowed for a unique opportunity.”

Dobson knew Watson had a love for the 1,500 meter and after training her for just eight weeks she ran faster than she ever had in five

“I ended up dropping out for fear of getting passed by too many people and disappointing the team,” Watson said.

Watson was battling negative thoughts and was comforted by a teammate, who had the same experience and her coaches who reassured them of their support.

“We learned that our coaches never want us to drop out of a race because we fear embarrassing the team,” Watson said. “They are here for us, and we are here to give what we have each day.”

With this reassurance, Watson moved forward with impressive workouts, but was soon setback with a 2 1/2 week injury in her hip and Sartorius, which is located on the thigh.

Recently, Watson began training again and has had her form analyzed by the team therapist to see if that is linked to the pain she was experiencing.

Watson is learning that while her beginning to elite running has been challenging, it has allowed her to learn a lot.

“I am reminded of the big picture,” Watson said. “I think about the Olympic qualifiers in the marathon. The women were 32 or older. When I think about the number of years that they have faithfully worked hard to reach their goals, that is a very long