As the daughter of a Foreign Service officer, Kristina Neighbour grew up in exotic places that most children can’t locate on a map. After a summer job at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Kristina joined this fall’s freshman class at Christopher Newport University, where she plans to major in political science and international relations. It’s another step toward her dream: a career in the Foreign Service.

Her experiences, combined with a near-perfect GPA at a private high school in Northern Virginia and top percentile SAT scores, make Kristina a college recruiter’s dream. She chose CNU over other institutions, she said, because she was invited to join the President’s Leadership Program and received a merit scholarship that includes funds to study abroad. She also liked what she saw.

“I visited almost every in-state school, but I felt at home at CNU,” Kristina said. “I thought, ‘I’ll be able to shine there.’ ” Her scholarship was made possible as part of a $5 million gift to the University from the Smithfield-Luter Foundation last year – the largest single donation in CNU’s history. The University is matching $1 million of the gift to provide academic leadership scholarships, in which students receive $10,000 over four years – $2,000 each year – plus an additional $2,000 to study abroad. The first three of the 48 recipients, including Kristina, arrived this fall.

“The availability of scholarships has definitely made a difference in our ability to recruit top students,” said Patty Cavender, dean of admissions. “This year’s scholars have an average SAT of 1325 and an average GPA of 3.9, scores you’d find at top schools in the country.”

CNU President Paul Trible thanks Newport News physician Dr. Sarah Forbes, right, for her $1 million gift for scholarships.

Thanks to the generosity of Sarah Forbes, a well-known Newport News physician, eight incoming freshmen received the first-ever CNU Endowed Merit Scholarships. Dr. Forbes has committed $1 million to CNU, which will be used to match other gifts up to another $1 million, potentially bringing the endowment for merit scholarships to $2 million.

“Dr. Forbes is a trailblazer,” said Lucy Latchum, CNU director of planned giving and scholarships. “She went to medical school when few women did, and now she sees the University as having a strong economic and cultural impact on this community and wants to be a part of it.”

Dr. Forbes also personally knows what a scholarship can mean to a family. She graduated from the University of Rochester, N.Y., in the 1950s. Her mother, a schoolteacher, saved to pay much of her tuition, and academic scholarships came later.

“What God has enabled me to achieve is not enough if I don’t share it,” said Dr. Forbes, explaining her generosity toward CNU. Giving money for scholarships “will enable others to do likewise when they succeed.”

The first company to accept the match challenge was Newport News Shipbuilding Employees Credit Union, which in April 2005 contributed $25,000, matched dollar for dollar. The credit union stipulated that preference for the NNSECU scholarship be given to students who not only meet the merit achievement criteria but also are matriculating from Virginia high schools in the greater Hampton Roads area.

CNU President Paul Trible believes that a dynamic campus environment thrives with the best and the brightest students, Ms. Latchum said. However, as the youngest public university in Virginia, CNU is just joining the race to build up scholarship funds.

The match challenge is a good way to shore up funds quickly, Ms. Latchum said. It also allows Alumni and friends to “exercise the most powerful philanthropy because it touches so many lives,” she said.