When Faith, Community, and Purpose Fill the Same Room: Northwest University Presidents Banquet 2025
When Faith, Community, and Purpose Fill the Same Room: Northwest University Presidents Banquet 2025
By Freddy Delgadillo | NWU Board Trustee | Eastside Luxury Real Estate Advisor, Judah Realty | Realogics Sotheby's International Realty
Some evenings simply stay with you. Last Friday, February 28th, was one of them.
A Night That Moved My Soul
Kimberly and I arrived at the Northwest University Presidents Banquet with full hearts and left even more grateful than when we walked in. As I reflect on the evening, one moment keeps rising to the surface — the Northwest Choralons.
When those students took the stage and lifted their voices in worship, something shifted in the room. It wasn't just beautiful music. It was a declaration. A reminder of why every dollar raised, every table hosted, and every hour invested in Christian higher education matters beyond what we can measure.
That moment moved my soul in a way I wasn't fully prepared for. And that is exactly what Northwest University does — it builds young men and women who carry something deeper than a degree when they walk across that stage.
Why I Said Yes — Three Years and Counting
I am now in my third year serving as a Board Trustee at Northwest University, and the answer to why I said yes has never changed.
I believe in Christian higher education. I am called to this community of believers. And I bring what I have — my business expertise, my relationships across the Eastside, and my commitment to support spiritually those who need it — to serve this institution however I can.
Northwest University is an Assembly of God university. I attend Cedar Park Christian Church, also an Assembly of God congregation. This isn't just institutional alignment — it's a shared foundation. A shared belief that education rooted in faith produces leaders who go into the world carrying both excellence and purpose.
"He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness."
— 2 Corinthians 9:10
That verse anchored me as Kimberly and I prepared to give toward the scholarship fund. Generosity multiplied. That is exactly what we witnessed Friday night.
The Announcement That Stopped the Room
When Northwest University President Jeremy Johnson took the stage, the room grew quiet.
In his address, President Johnson spoke with conviction about his calling — "It is my honor," he said, "to mobilize an army of people who believe in a Jesus-centered education that will shape the heart and mind of our students to go all over the world."
Then came the moment everyone had been praying toward.
Northwest University didn't just meet its scholarship fundraising goal for the evening.
We exceeded $1.5 million for new student scholarships. 🙌
The response in that room was immediate. This wasn't polite applause — it was the sound of an entire community exhaling in gratitude. Donors, trustees, families, students — all of us understanding in real time what that number means for the next generation of young men and women who will walk onto that campus believing God has something specific for their lives.
A Table Filled With Purpose
Kimberly and I hosted a table that evening — surrounded by family, dear friends, and two incredible guests. But the most meaningful addition to our table was Miciah Hagan, the incoming Student Body President of Northwest University.
Watching Miciah carry himself through that evening with maturity and genuine hunger for wisdom confirmed something I already sensed — the future of this university is in extraordinary hands.
I had the privilege of sharing a Northwest University pin with Miciah as a small token of congratulations for stepping into this role. What struck me most was not his title, but his heart. He is excited to serve his peers. He is hungry for knowledge. He is ready.
Miciah and I have already scheduled time to connect over coffee next month — because that is what community looks like. Not just celebrating people in a room, but following through when the evening ends.
The Eastside Connection — Closer Than You Think
One of the most compelling things about Northwest University is its proximity and its purpose for our local community.
My children attend Cedar Park Christian School — K through 12. Families throughout Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, and Issaquah are raising children in faith-based education environments and wondering where that journey continues after high school.
Northwest University answers that question — right here on the Eastside.
Rather than sending our students to another state or across Washington for a Christian university experience, NWU provides world-class, faith-centered higher education within reach of the communities we love. That matters enormously to the families I serve in real estate — families who have chosen the Eastside precisely because of its values, its schools, its churches, and its community.
The Eastside isn't just a real estate market to me. It is home. And institutions like Northwest University are a foundational reason why families choose to plant roots here and never leave.
Northwest University welcomes students from across the Eastside and beyond. If you or someone you know is exploring Christian higher education — and scholarship money is now available for incoming students — I encourage you to learn more and take that next step.
👉 Learn More About Northwest University & Available Scholarships
What This Means For The Families I Serve
In over 25 years of serving buyers and sellers across Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, Sammamish, and Issaquah, I have learned that luxury real estate decisions are never purely financial. They are deeply personal.
Families choosing a home on the Eastside are choosing a community. They are choosing the schools their children will attend, the churches where they will worship, the neighbors who will become lifelong friends.
When I tell a client that the Eastside is extraordinary — I am not reading from a brochure. I am speaking from the inside. As a DECA judge, a Cedar Park family member, a Northwest University Board Trustee, and a 25-year Eastside resident, I live what I sell.
And Friday night was a reminder that the community we are building here — faith by faith, family by family, scholarship by scholarship — is something worth protecting, investing in, and celebrating together.
Grateful Beyond Words
To President Jeremy Johnson and the entire Northwest University family — thank you for an extraordinary evening.
To every donor who gave toward the $1.5 million scholarship milestone — your generosity will change lives that haven't even arrived on campus yet.
To Miciah Hagan — the best is ahead of you. Lead well. 🙏
To Kimberly — thank you for being by my side in every room that matters. 🤍
And to the Northwest Choralons — you reminded an entire room why we show up. Don't ever stop singing.
Thinking About Buying or Selling on the Eastside?
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If you are looking for a real estate advisor who knows this community from the inside out — someone embedded in the schools, the faith institutions, the leadership circles, and the neighborhoods you care about — I would love to earn your trust.
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Contact Freddy TodayFreddy Delgadillo | Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist (CLHMS)
Judah Realty | Realogics Sotheby's International Realty