Dear Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund

Dear Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund Family,

As I sit down to write this letter, I honestly don’t know how to put into words what the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund has meant to my daughter, my family, and me. I find myself writing through tears because this is more than a thank-you letter. It is a reflection of a journey that began when my daughter was just five years old and is now bringing us to her final year as a scholarship recipient.

In 2015, my daughter, Layla Hudson-Bradshaw, was awarded the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship. At the time, I was a single mother who desperately wanted my daughter to remain at Ephesus Academy, the school she had known and loved since she was only 10 months old. She began there in the infant program and was actually the first child in the program for approximately three weeks, by herself, before other children joined her. At age five, she transitioned from the daycare side to the school side.

I knew Ephesus Academy was where I wanted her to continue her education. I loved that she would receive an excellent academic education while also being taught about God, the Bible, faith, character, and service. I loved the small student-to-teacher ratio, the family atmosphere, and the teachers who became so much more than teachers—they became family.

But as much as I wanted this for my daughter, I knew I could not afford the tuition on my own.

That is where God and AOSF stepped in.

I remember the excitement when Layla received the scholarship and the AOSF team came to interview her. They were impressed by how well this little five-year-old spoke and expressed herself. She was even featured on the AOSF website for years. Looking back at that little girl and comparing her to the young woman she is today brings tears to my eyes.

Every year, I would complete that scholarship application with hope in my heart and fear in the back of my mind. I would pray that she would continue to be selected because I knew that without the scholarship, I simply could not afford to keep her at Ephesus Academy. I am a college graduate and a Pre-K4 teacher who has worked hard to provide for my daughter, but I also knew that my salary alone could not make this private-school education possible.

Yet year after year, God made a way through AOSF.

And look what happened because you said yes to my daughter.

Layla has never made a B. She has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout her educational journey. She has earned approximately 57 medals, more than 150 certificates, and 33 trophies. She has placed first in numerous science and social studies fairs, participated in spelling bees and oratorical competitions, and served as a leader and role model to so many students.

She became the head praise dancer, excelled in volleyball, and even designed and created the uniforms for her team. She has participated in mission trips to Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, and St. Croix, experiences that helped expand her understanding of service, culture, faith, and the world around her.

She completed dual-enrollment courses as early as 9th and 10th grade. Today, in her senior year, she is taking Anatomy and Physiology at Lawson State Community College and is the only senior from her school currently taking the course. At just five years old, she was already creating PowerPoint presentations. Today, she is preparing for college and the next chapter of her life.

Academically, spiritually, athletically, creatively, and personally, she has truly blossomed.

But what makes me proudest is not the medals, certificates, trophies, grades, or accomplishments.

It is the person she has become.

She works hard for her school. She loves people. She leads. She serves. She encourages others. She represents Ephesus Academy with pride, and the staff—past and present—speak so highly of her. She has become the kind of young woman who makes people proud simply by being herself.

And I know that AOSF played a major role in making this journey possible.

Because of you, my daughter was able to remain in an environment where her faith could grow alongside her education. She was surrounded by teachers who believed in her, challenged her, encouraged her, and loved her. She was given opportunities that helped her discover her gifts and develop confidence in who God created her to be.

You didn’t simply help pay for her education. You helped make her education possible.

You invested in a five-year-old little girl, and now you are helping send a confident, educated, accomplished, faith-filled young

woman into the world.

That is an investment that cannot be measured in dollars.

As we approach the end of this journey and look toward Class of 2027, I find myself saying, “Layla, you did it!”

And I find myself saying to AOSF:

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you for believing in my daughter when she was five.

Thank you for continuing to believe in her year after year.

Thank you for giving a single mother the opportunity to provide her daughter with an education that she otherwise could not have afforded.

Thank you for helping me keep a promise I made to myself—to give my daughter every opportunity I possibly could.

And thank you for helping make Ephesus Academy a place that Layla could call home for so many years.

If we had the opportunity to make this decision all over again, Layla would choose Ephesus Academy—and so would I.

I am forever grateful to the AOSF family, to every person who makes these scholarships possible, and to every donor whose generosity may have helped make my daughter’s journey possible. You may never fully know how deeply your support has touched our lives.

One day, I hope Layla will be able to give back to another child the way AOSF gave to her.

Because now she knows what it feels like when someone believes in you.

Thank you for believing in my daughter.

Thank you for helping her dream.

Thank you for helping her grow.

Thank you for helping her become.

And most importantly, thank you for being part of the village that helped raise an extraordinary young woman.

I give all glory to God for bringing us this far, and I thank God for placing the Alabama Opportunity Scholarship Fund in our path all those years ago.

From a five-year-old little girl who impressed you during her interview, to the young woman standing today as a proud member of the Ephesus Academy Class of 2027 - Layla Hudson-Bradshaw did it.

And AOSF, you were a part of that story.

With a heart full of gratitude, love, and appreciation,

Sincerely,

LaShanda Hudson
Layla’s Mom
Proud Mother of an AOSF Scholar

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