Within Reach

Daughter of a single mother. Sister to a deployed active duty United States Marine. And unable to secure loans to afford a four-year university experience. This is the story of Hannah Waterman - one of Linfield University's many prized students. 

Hannah’s list of feats is truly remarkable, her journey through Linfield humbling. By spring 2021 she will have graduated with not just one undergraduate degree but two—biochemistry and mathematics. She captained three seasons of Wildcat women’s volleyball and worked nearly 6,000 hours both on and off campus to pay for living and learning expenses that fell outside the multiple academic scholarships and awards she has earned. All of this achievement is from a young woman who started her senior year of high school unsure if college would ever be within reach.

That is, until she began receiving calls from volleyball coaches of the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference. Only then did she consider college an option. But in her way stood a tremendous blockade: the expense.

Thanks to donors who believe in the academic potential of students like Hannah, she was offered substantial financial aid, which put Linfield University within reach. And Hannah was on a trajectory she never imagined possible.