Kingdom Enlightenment Scholarship

Purpose:
To honor the wishes of the late Stephen Schlessman Fredericks, by helping less fortunate young people receive an education and, in so doing, break a cycle of poverty.

The Kingdom Enlightenment Scholarship Foundation was founded by Stephen S. Fredericks in his Last Will and Testament. Steve died of malignant melanoma on April 13, 1991, at the young age of 34.
Steve grew up in Southeast Denver where he attended Asbury Elementary School and later graduated from John F. Kennedy High School. Steve had a love for sports and was very athletic. He worked as a golf pro in Texas while practicing to become a professional golfer. It was about this time when Steve discovered that he had cancer.

Steve decided that golf was not his destiny, and he continued to search for the truth and meaning of his life. As Steve’s cancer progressed, his search became an obsession. For years, Steve had anguished over the injustice in the world and the disparity between the rich and the poor. With the short amount of time Steve had left, he decided to do something about it. Steve began to volunteer his time at the Denver Street School because he believed in their Christian mission to help troubled teens get an education. Steve also began to counsel troubled youths at the Gilliam Youth Service Center. It was there that he discovered that the majority of the troubled youths were minorities and came from poor families. Steve desperately wanted to help these people and he laid awake nights trying to think of ways to raise money for this purpose. Steve’s love of art led to the foundation of the “Shot of Love” corporation. His “Shot of Love” paintings were one-of-a-kind abstract ink paintings. All of the profits of these paintings were to go to charitable organizations, but unfortunately, Steve ended up losing money on this venture, but he was not disheartened.
He was, however, running out of time. The cancer was progressing rapidly. Steve could barely walk. He had lost the use of one leg, his hair had fallen out, and he was starting to have seizures. The cancer had moved to his brain. There was no time left to make money, he had to concentrate on how to achieve his goal with what he had.

Fortunately, Steve had inherited a substantial amount of money from his grandfather. He could never enjoy this wealth, however, because of his deep-felt concern for the poor. Now with his mother and lawyer at his bedside, Steve worked out the details for a scholarship foundation that would help educate the less fortunate young people in our society and help them break the poverty cycle that he knew was to blame for many of society’s ills. He was going to make things more equal in what he perceived as a very unfair world. The money that could not make Steve happy in his life would now bring him peace and fulfillment in his death and help many, many young people to have a chance for a better life. The Kingdom Enlightenment Scholarship Foundation was Steve’s last “Shot of Love” to the world.

Criteria:
• Be meeting MSU Denver’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements and cannot be in default or owe any refund/repayment of federal, state or institutional aid
• Complete the MSU Denver Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships scholarship application
• Have a minimum cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
• Have financial need based on FAFSA and the MSU Denver Office of Financial Aid
• Be a Colorado public high school graduate
• Students who study abroad are not eligible

All Kingdom students who can be renewed should be each year.
There is a preference to assist minority students.