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JACKSON, Tenn. — March 15, 2021 — High school senior Lydia Verdoorn, of Des Moines, Iowa, has received the 2021 Founders’ Scholarship from ������̳ that covers full tuition, room, meals and student services fees for four years.

The scholarship came from Union’s Scholars of Excellence competition that draws the highest qualified prospective students to campus for a weekend of interviews and other activities.

Verdoorn, a home school student, is the daughter of Robert and Karen Verdoorn, and her brother Tom is a business major at Union. She plans to double major in English and communication arts and is interested in working for a pro-life ministry of some kind.

Verdoorn said she was attracted by Union’s strong academics.

“I saw a lot of things in Union that I really admired,” she said. “I definitely wanted to find a school where I could pursue the fields of study I wanted, with excellence.”

She also loved the community that she found at Union.

“When my brother came back from his first semester, he was very excited about the Life Groups on campus,” she said. “That definitely sparked my interest, because I’m a huge people person.”

Verdoorn is a member of Westchester Evangelical Free Church in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Founders’ Scholarship is Union’s highest academic scholarship. Recipients must maintain a 3.25 cumulative grade point average at Union and are required to perform up to 50 hours of leadership services for the university each semester.