Dakota Adventist Secondary Education Scholarship
As of May 2025, the Dakota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists will no longer own or operate a boarding academy. However, the Conference and its members remain committed to providing Adventist education for academy-aged youth of the Conference. This scholarship was designed to assist families with a portion of the funding needed since students will have to travel to other states to attend an Adventist secondary school.
Who is eligible?
All grade 9 through 12 applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Parent(s)/legal guardian(s) must be a member of a Dakota Conference Seventh-day Adventist Church*
- Parent(s)/legal guardian(s) must be a resident of the state of North Dakota or South Dakota.*
- Applicants must apply to a Seventh-day Adventist school.
*Exception: Any Dakota Adventist Academy student who completed the 2024-2025 school year is eligible to apply for this scholarship, regardless of where their membership or residency is located.
What requirements do students need to meet?
- The student must be applying to a Seventh-day Adventist School.
- The student must be willing to participate in work and community service opportunities. Student earnings are applied to their bill, according to school policy.
- During the school year, the student must maintain a passing grade in attendance and his/her classes.
How do I apply?
- Apply online using the link below. You will be asked to upload a dated photo of your signature as part of the application process.
- Deadline: Apply before JUNE 30. Late applications will not be accepted.
- Click here for a link to the application.
Click on the link to read the Dakota Adventist Secondary Education Scholarship Handbook.
Frank & Lulu Saunders Scholarship
In the early 1900s, the Rhoads and Saunders families lived on farms less than two miles apart near Leonard, North Dakota. Bessie Saunders was a teenager keeping house for her bachelor brothers, Roy and Frank. Lulu Rhoads was a student at Elk Point Academy in South Dakota. While there, she persuaded Bessie to come to the academy for her high school education. Bessie, wanting to look her best, arrived at the academy adorned in jewelry and makeup, not allowed in the academy’s dress code of the day. Shocked, many school faculty felt she should be sent home, but principal Bert Rhoads, Lulu’s uncle (and an experienced educator), said, “Let me deal with this.” Soon, Bessie adopted a more modest appearance, and eventually her Christian training allowed her to lead both Frank and Roy to dedicate their lives to God. Lulu had some summer school teacher training and taught school for a couple of years, while Bessie became a nurse.
Roy Saunders attended Sheyenne River Academy in North Dakota and eventually married Florence Rhoads, Lulu’s younger sister. Together, they became missionaries to South America.
Frank Saunders married Lulu in 1909, settling on the Saunders farm a few miles from Leonard. The couple had four children who grew to maturity: Eldon, Francis, Faith, and Jeanne. Upon finishing the local eighth-grade country school, Frank and Lulu wanted all their children to receive a Christian education, so several attended Sheyenne River Academy, and at least one attended Maplewood Academy in Hutchinson, Minnesota. The boys eventually made their career in farming.
The depression years were difficult. Lulu made soap from tallow and lye for the academy to help pay the $21 monthly tuition, room, and board. The children remember mom wearing the same coat for twenty years, and one of the girls wore overshoes to class because her shoes had a hole in the sole.
Frank and Lulu would be pleased to know that their sacrifices and efforts eventually established a scholarship fund to help Dakota students receive a post-secondary education. In 2020, the scholarship was opened up to another group of worthy students as well. As Jeanne had attended Maplewood Academy, she requested that any Maplewood graduate be allowed to apply.
Anyone wishing to help expand the impact of this fund through a donation, please make your check out to Dakota Conference Corporation, memo “Saunders Scholarship Fund.” Mail to the Dakota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 7200 N. Washington St, Bismarck, ND 58503-6301.
Application Process
Two types of grants are available through the Frank & Lulu Saunders Scholarship to students holding church membership in the Dakota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. Enrollment must be in a post-secondary educational institution that is listed in the most recent official Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook..
Click here for the “Graduate Student Scholarship Grant Application.”
Click here for the “Undergraduate Student Scholarship Grant Application.”
To apply for scholarship consideration, please follow these steps:
- Note eligibility requirements (top of the front page of the application form).
- Print and complete the application. Please print (or type) to ensure legibility.
- Provide a (minimum) one-page essay including information per instructions on the second page of the application form.
- Provide two letters of recommendation/reference: One from a current teacher and one from your current pastor and/or recent employer. Recommendations from relatives do not qualify.
- Scan all documents in the order listed , attach in PDF format, and email to
- The deadline to receive applications is April 7.
Please note that ineligible applicants and/or incomplete application document sets (per the above list) will be disqualified without notice.
PVA: Ron Purkapile Student Scholarship Fund
Just prior to his passing in 2016, Ron Purkapile had a conversation with Everett Schlisner about possible alternate uses for the Plainview Academy (PVA) alumni account: Why not establish a fund benefitting South Dakota students who wished to attend Dakota Adventist Academy? Donors would also be able to donate to this fund so that it would continue to grow and benefit South Dakota students.
At their last official business meeting in June 2016, Plainview Academy alumni wholeheartedly embraced the idea and established the PVA-Ron Purkapile South Dakota Student Scholarship. This scholarship offers grants to benefit students whose home church is located in South Dakota and who are attending Dakota Adventist Academy. Students must maintain a grade point average of 2.5 or greater, maintain good citizenship standing, and will be selected annually by the scholarship committee.
Grants will be awarded annually during the second semester and shall not exceed $750 individually. Total grants within the school year shall not exceed $1,500 or 15% of total scholarship assets at the time the grants are awarded. The funds are held by the Dakota Conference Corporation, and grants will be paid directly to Dakota Adventist Academy on behalf of the recipients.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the fund should make their check out to Dakota Conference Corporation, memo PVA-Purkapile Scholarship, and mailed to Dakota Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 7200 N Washington St, Bismarck, ND 58503-6301.