A Christmas Wish Answered: How A Full-Tuition Scholarship Impacted Calvin Rayfield ’30

According to his mother, Calvin Rayfield had just one thing on his Christmas list.

“He said he would do anything to attend St. Joseph’s Prep — that it was the only thing he was going to ask for,” Mary Ellen Hoffman says of her son, an eighth-grader at St. Mary Magdalen School in Media. “We decided to pray on it and trust God’s plan.”

God’s plan unfolded in extraordinary fashion.

Calvin was accepted to the Prep and soon learned he was among the top candidates for scholarship consideration. Then came the life-changing news: he had been selected as one of the Howley Scholars for the Class of 2030, receiving a full-tuition scholarship made possible by the generosity of Prep alumnus Nick Howley ’70, his wife Lorie, and the Howley Foundation.

“When Mr. (Stephen) Abrams (Vice President for Enrollment) called to tell me Calvin was being awarded one of the most prestigious scholarships at the Prep — and that it covered full tuition — I broke out in tears,” Hoffman recalls. “I was shaking. When Calvin found out, he hugged me and cried and said, ‘God listened and answered.’”

For the Rayfield family, the scholarship represents far more than financial assistance. It is affirmation. After receiving the news, Calvin and his mother researched the Howleys and their foundation, learning about their commitment to expanding access to a Prep education.

“Calvin realized in that moment that his hard work — being a good person, helping others, doing the right thing, and striving for strong grades — had been noticed,” Hoffman says. “He cannot wait to get to the Prep and show the Howleys and the entire community how grateful he is for this opportunity.”

The Howleys are not the only members of the Prep community who helped open this door.

Their neighbor, Donald Phillips ’72, sponsored Calvin to attend Prep U in 2024 and shared stories of his own Prep experience. From that point forward, Hoffman says, “the Prep was the only high school Calvin wanted to attend.”

Other St. Mary Magdalen families with Prep ties — including Herb Phillips ’92 and the Cullens, Defines, and Merschs — reached out to the Admissions Office to support Calvin’s application and share their belief in his character and potential.

“It takes a village to raise a great child,” Hoffman says. “For Calvin, that village is strong — and now includes so many more people than we ever imagined.”

For students like Calvin, scholarships make the difference between aspiration and access. They ensure that a student’s ability to attend the Prep is determined not by financial circumstance, but by promise, character, and drive.

“We have been through a lot, and God has always guided us where we are meant to be,” Hoffman reflects. “We prayed and prayed that we would figure this out. I feel so blessed that the Prep chose Calvin. Seeing the look in his eyes when he knew he was going to be able to go — that will stay in my heart forever.”

In four short years, Calvin will walk across the stage as a member of the Class of 2030. Thanks to the generosity of the Howley family and the broader Prep community, his journey is just beginning.

And it all started with a Christmas wish — and a community willing to make it come true.