Tending to the Light Within

By: Ricky Austin

Over the years, hosting the Night of Light Celebration, our annual gala, has given me an unusual gift: a vocabulary of light. Shine a light. Hold a light. Become the light. Step out of the shadows. Light the way forward.

On the occasion of the gala, this language is a helpful messaging tool, but on a more day-to-day basis, it has become something more: a framework for understanding opportunity and resilience—for noticing the sparks of hope that rise even in the darkest moments.

In these past few weeks, through the tragedy at Annunciation, the loss of Harper and Fletcher, and the continued journey of those affected deeply, we’ve been making our way through the dark. But we also see those sparks daily. We’ve seen them in teachers welcoming children back to classrooms. We’ve seen them in the generosity of communities standing shoulder to shoulder. We’ve seen them in families who, despite a host of uncertainties and challenges, still dare to dream of something brighter for their children. These sparks—embers catching, flames beginning to grow—do not erase the sorrow we feel, but they remind us that sorrow never has the final word.

Ricky Austin is the president of the Aim Higher Foundation.

Within the work of forming children for the future, each spark points to a deeper truth: the light within a child is always there—woven into who they are. But whether it rises to its full brilliance often depends on the conditions around it. Just as a flame needs oxygen and protection to grow, a child’s gifts need the right people and places to flourish. It needs the steady glow of teachers and school leaders, the warming flame of community, and the kind of shelter that allows it to grow into radiance. When a child is placed in an environment that nurtures their God-given gifts, their light does more than flicker—it burns brighter, casting illumination far beyond our imaginations.

As we round out this back to school season and head into the Night of Light next week, know that the Aim Higher Foundation, as it always has, carries this call to action. We believe every child should be able to step into a school where their light is cherished and strengthened. Every scholarship we award is like fuel for that flame, sustaining it, protecting it, and helping it grow. And every school supported becomes a place where light multiplies—where one child’s brilliance inspires another’s, until the glow of possibility fills the whole community.

Together, with your support, we will keep tending these flames—one child, one family, one school at a time.