The Indiana Academy class gift of $1.4 million grew to $1.5 million before the alumni weekend events were over.
Debbie Michel
November 6, 2025That was the amount of the check presented during the alumni reunion weekend, Oct. 10-13. When class president Larry Schalk stood before the crowd in the school gymnasium, the audience rose to its feet in applause. “I’ve gone to alumni weekends almost every year for 65 years,” Schalk said. “I’ve never seen a response like that.”
For Schalk, the gift represents more than generosity. “We wanted to make sure every student who wants a Christian education can have that opportunity,” he said. “Money should never be the reason a young person can’t attend Indiana Academy.”
Schalk and others have watched in dismay as several Adventist academies across the country have closed in recent years—including Bass Memorial Academy in Mississippi and Dakota Adventist Academy in North Dakota.
Indiana Academy’s enrollment isn’t threatened, at the moment. This year, the school welcomed 106 students, nearly reaching its capacity of 120. About half are from immigrant and refugee families, often with limited financial means. Indiana is in a unique position as one of only two states in the Lake Union (the other is Wisconsin) that provide a $6,500 voucher subsidy per student. With an additional $2,000 to $4,000, Adventist education becomes a more affordable option for families who want their children to experience a faith-based environment. The new endowment will strengthen that model.
To understand the heart behind this generosity, one must understand the Class of 1960.
“We were a family of kids that created a lot of problems for the school,” Schalk said with a chuckle. “I was class president for most of the year, but on our senior class trip with a month of school to go, the principal removed all four gentlemen that were officers of the senior class.”
The incident left a sting, but the hurt only seemed to tighten the bond among the class of 1960 and they stayed close throughout the decades. At their 50th year reunion, 41 out of the 48 living graduates returned. At the 60th reunion, about half came again.
Classmates Elizabeth Rogers and Don Gettys credit Schalk as the person largely responsible for holding the class together. “He’s planned some really wonderful get-togethers during alumni weekends,” said Rogers.
Now in their golden years, between 82 and 87 years old, the classmates reflect on how their Adventist education shaped them. Rogers said her parents sacrificed so she could attend. “There were times they were ready to send me home because my bill wasn’t paid, and by a miracle my dad, a realtor, would sell a property,” she said. “My parents really sacrificed for us to go. I mean, really sacrificed.”
Gettys echoed that theme of “huge sacrifice,” recalling his parents selling their home and moving to a smaller home in Cicero so he and his sister could attend the academy. His dad drove every day back and forth to his job an hour away, so that they could live near the school.
Many of the 1960 graduates went on to lead accomplished lives. Gettys, a longtime Adventist pastor and evangelist, became known for his decades of ministry and preaching. Rogers earned her doctorate and later served as a university professor and dean. Others pursued leadership in healthcare, education and public service.
“A lot of us turned out A-OK,” Rogers said. “Many of us went on to college, which wasn’t that common for women back then. And we’ve done well.”
Schalk himself spent his career in Adventist institutions, serving as chief financial officer at Andrews University and earlier with Adventist healthcare. “We’ve all been blessed,” he said. “And I think that’s part of why people gave so freely. We wanted to help others have the same chance we did.”
The million-and-a-half-dollar gift began with an anonymous class member who wanted to give back through the creation of an endowment. They wanted to remain anonymous and asked Schalk, as class president, to present it and make it happen”
The donor’s initial gift was $600,000, with a two-for-one matching challenge for new gifts up to $200,000. As momentum built, the donor increased the match to $300,000, bringing the total to $1.5 million. At alumni weekend, they had raised $270,000 in pledges and donations. They turned to the audience and asked if they would give $30,000, of which the donor would match with $60,000. That brought the number up from $1.4 million to a million-and-a-half.
Schalk worked closely with Indiana Conference administrators, including President Vic Van Schaik, Treasurer Mark Eaton and Academy Business Manager David Dickerson.
Schaik said the conference is grateful for the generosity of the IA Class of 1960 and friends for their support of this endowment. “We want to encourage others to contribute to this endowment so that many more young people can have the opportunity to receive an Adventist Christian education," he said. "This is a unique way to leave a legacy that will impact generations to come.”
For Schalk, the goal is that “money isn’t an excuse for a student not to attend.” He continued, “If you can capture an individual to come to an academy and get a Christian education, you have a much better chance of being successful, of being accepted for the long term and coming into the kingdom.”
Rogers, who has given to the academy nearly every year since she graduated, said the motivation is deeply personal. “Indiana Academy made it possible for me to get an Adventist education and I want other kids to have that chance.”
Sixty-five years after their graduation, the Class of 1960 has indeed made its mark through a legacy of faithfulness and hope in future generations.
Debbie Michel is editor of the Lake Union Herald.
