At Cumorah Academy, transformation is not theoretical.
It is lived, witnessed, and deeply felt.
Young adults arrive on campus carrying dreams, uncertainties, spiritual questions, and untapped potential. What they discover during their time here is a place built on faith, service, discipline, and opportunity. They leave with new confidence, clearer purpose, and a deeper understanding of their ability to influence the world for good.
None of this happens without generosity. The progress students achieve is sustained by donors, mentors, volunteers, and staff who give of their means, time, and hearts. This is the meaning behind Giving Hope Cumorah Academy: a collective effort to lift the rising generation and empower them to become who they were meant to be.
“We’re giving love, faith, hope, opportunity, and a brighter future.” – Kamila U. Fullmer, COO
Chief Operating Officer Kamila U. Fullmer describes Giving Hope as a time to recognize the miracles made possible through generosity.
She explains:
“Every year, we witness young people arrive on our campus full of dreams, uncertainty, and potential—and we see them grow, transform, and become confident leaders ready to make a difference in the world.”
For Kamila, scholarships are not just financial assistance; they are instruments of change.
“Each donation directly impacts lives by providing scholarships that open doors to those who would otherwise not have this opportunity.”
She emphasizes that generosity reaches beyond the financial realm.
“When we give, we’re not just offering financial support—we’re giving love, faith, hope, opportunity, and a brighter future.”
This vision sits at the center of Giving Hope Cumorah Academy: giving so young adults can rise, learn, grow, and later influence their families and communities.
Daily Moments that Reveal the Heart of Hope – Cheryl Mason, Managing Director
For Cheryl Mason, the soul of Cumorah Academy is found in everyday interactions. She describes moments that, taken together, show the spirit of hope that generosity sustains.
She recalls refilling her water bottle, feeling weighed down by decisions made earlier that day. A student approaches her and expresses—in brave, imperfect English—how much she is growing and how grateful she is for the interns who teach her.
Cheryl remembers:
“A beautiful young woman comes up to me and in her brave usage of English tells me what a difference being here is making in her life.”
On another occasion, a student asks to speak with her in the laundry room. The young woman confesses a mistake and breaks down in tears.
“I remind her that she is doing exactly what she should do—she’s admitting it to me and she can let it go.”
These are moments of learning, nurturing, and spiritual growth.
She shares what she sees in the early mornings:
“I open the door to the Gym and see several students stretching and lifting weights with lively music. I go for my walk, aware of how beautifully they are striving to be healthy.”
Later, she enters a classroom and finds students dancing before class begins, preparing themselves mentally and emotionally for the day.
Cheryl describes the essence of the environment:
“Cumorah Academy is fast paced, intense, intentional and incredible.”
Generosity that Changes Lives
One of her most touching experiences came when an anonymous donor stepped forward to help a student pay a remaining tuition balance.
“Five minutes later I have a video message from that student asking me to share it with whoever the anonymous donor was. I cry when I hear them talk about how they’ve trusted the Lord to provide a way.”
This is the heartbeat of Giving Hope: generosity that quietly, powerfully changes lives.
“Honoring agency becomes the greatest manifestation of leadership.” – Don Mason, Managing Director
Don Mason has spent more than three decades guiding individuals to become better disciples and leaders. His reflection on the Academy captures its unique environment.
He teaches:
“Influence, true leadership, has always included valuing individuals as they seek to realize their full divine potential.”
His leadership philosophy resonates with the mission of Giving Hope:
“Honoring the agency of all seekers of goodness becomes the greatest manifestation of leadership, not merely management, connection, not correction, and commitment, not control.”
He notes that when individuals gather to learn and grow together, the result is powerful and transformative:
“There is individual and collective power as people feel the significance of their own preparation.”
Don concludes with a powerful affirmation:
“No format, no place, and no program affect outcomes in the manner, or with as great an impact, as does Cumorah Academy.”
“It is an endowment of hope.” – Iain Saunders, Academic Director
Academic Director Iain Saunders witnesses transformation unfold repeatedly. He describes what happens to students who come unsure of their place in the world:
“Over and over I see students arrive uncertain and unsure of themselves and their lives and then leave with purpose, direction, confidence, and hope.”
What touches him most is that hope is something that settles deeply in a person:
“It is an endowment of hope that distils upon their hearts, settling in the crevices of their character and faith till they are filled and ready to tackle the challenges of life.”
He emphasizes that donors, mentors, and volunteers participate in the same spiritual uplift:
“They too reap in the endowment of hope that abounds and changes everyone who touches it.”
This expanding circle of hope is the foundation of Giving Hope Cumorah Academy.
“They are mountains of light.” – Ron Cademi, Campus Director
Campus Director Ron Cademi describes Cumorah Academy with a striking image:
“My connection to Cumorah Academy lies in the knowledge that they are mountains of light.”
For Ron, the Academy is a place where faith, reason, and will meet:
“A place where faith in Jesus Christ grows, where reason and will are cultivated, and all of this is transformed into personal power.”
He teaches that this personal power becomes the ability to transform one’s own life and the lives of others. Donors make this ascent possible.
“They are the hope of the future.” – Patrick Sedivy, CEO
Patrick Sedivy quotes President Russell M. Nelson to describe the rising generation:
“They have the capacity to be smarter and wiser and have more impact on the world than any previous generation.”
Strengthening young people, he explains, is not only worthwhile—it is essential.
“Strengthening, educating and preparing the rising generation not only gives each young adult hope, but they truly are the hope of Israel and the future of the world.”
This is the heart of Giving Hope Cumorah Academy: enabling a rising generation to rise.
Why Your Gift Matters
When you support Cumorah Academy, you help young adults:
- Strengthen character and faith
- Develop leadership grounded in integrity and compassion
- Gain clarity, purpose, and discipline
- Grow academically, spiritually, emotionally, and physically
- Carry hope into their families, communities, and nations
Each donation sustains the environment these leaders describe—a place where transformation is not theoretical, but lived.
Join Us in Giving Hope to Cumorah Academy
Your contribution becomes part of the stories above. It becomes part of students’ progress, mentors’ service, leaders’ guidance, and the miracles that unfold quietly every day on campus.
Support the rising generation.
Strengthen lives that will strengthen others.
Participate in genuine transformation.
Give today and help a young person step into a future filled with faith, purpose, and hope.
Written by Fernando L. Ferreira Jr.
Supervision by Kamila Uberto Fullmer
