Bolingers named Northwest Family of the Year for 2026-27

The Bolinger family of Lawson, Missouri, received the recognition bestowed each fall on a family that represents Northwest through their legacy, leadership, involvement and service.

Sponsored by the Northwest Alumni Association, the Family of the Year designation includes, among other prizes, a $1,025 scholarship award for a member of the family who is a current Northwest student.

Recipients are identified through Northwest’s scholarship application process, and Maryanna Bolinger, a senior accounting and business management major, was selected to receive the honor this year with her family.

“We’re all super grateful and super humbled to be selected,” Maryanna said. “The application process was one of those things where it was like, ‘Well, you know, I’ll try. The likelihood of us winning, probably not great, but it would be cool if we did.’”

The family also includes Powell, a sophomore business management major, and Lola, a freshman meta major. Their younger brother, Christopher, is a high school sophomore who has an interest in attending Northwest, too.

Their parents are Chris Bolinger, a 2002 alumnus with a bachelor’s degree in public relations, and Carissa Cureton Bolinger, a 2001 alumna with a bachelor’s degree in office information systems.

Chris was a resident assistant in Hudson Hall and a student ambassador in addition to activity in Campus Crusade for Christ, intramural sports and the University Chorale. Carissa was a resident assistant in Phillips Hall and a student ambassador, in addition to activity in the Northwest Dance Company, Campus Crusade for Christ and Fellowship of Christian Athletes; she also was Northwest’s Homecoming queen in 2000.

Additionally, Chris’s parents, Erwin and Ann Powell Bolinger, attended Northwest and – like Chris and Carissa – were engaged at Colden Pond.

“They never pushed us to go to Northwest,” Maryanna said. “They always said, ‘We want you to make your own decisions.’ But they talked so highly about their time here when they were in college.”

Northwest is a second home for the Bolinger family, Chris and Carissa said, and they are proud that their children are creating their own memories at the University.

“Words don’t describe the feeling that you can have at Northwest,” Chris said. “It feels like you’re coming home. It is a family. It is a home away from home. The kids felt it when we walked on campus, and that’s why they all chose it, and they’ve been able to come in and get a good education. They’ve been able to develop their faith. They’ve been able to have a great church family here. They’ve been able to do good things in the community and ready themselves for that next season of life.”

Drawn to the Northwest experience

Although the Bolinger children grew up hearing their parents’ stories of Northwest, Maryanna also took cues from an older high school friend who attended the University and “raved” about her experience at the University. 

“She just had a fantastic experience, and so when I was a senior touring schools, I didn’t actually go on any other official tours because I was comparing everywhere else I went to Northwest and made my decision pretty early on,” Maryanna said.

Powell says his decision to attend Northwest was an easy one after some visits to the campus and meeting some of Maryanna’s friends. “There’s really nothing bad you can say about Northwest in our experience,” he said.

Lola, for her part, says she tried to take a different path to pursuing her college education, but she, too, was swayed by Northwest’s offerings. She was looking for a school with quality academic programs, a beautiful campus that felt like the right size for her, a small-town feel and strong campus ministries.

“I started looking at Northwest as more of a college than the place where my siblings were, and I was just checking off mental boxes of what Northwest had in my head. I was like, ‘Ok, so I kind of have to go here.’ It's just perfect.”

Campus involvement, career opportunities and service

Maryanna is active at Northwest as a member of the Society of Presidential Scholars and Accounting Society, in addition to maintaining student employment as an office assistant in Career Services. Previously, she served as a residential assistant in Tower Suites.

Despite her father’s nudges, Maryanna says she initially resisted the idea of becoming an accountant. Now, she says, she is passionate about helping people manage their finances and wants to become a certified public accountant.

“I took my first accounting class my freshman year and was hooked,” she said. “So, I found out I have a knack for it, and I really enjoy it.”

Away from campus, Maryanna has gained experience by working part-time last year at Community Services in Maryville, where she assisted with the organization’s accounting.

During the summer of 2025, she completed an accounting internship with Ray-Carroll County Grain Growers. During the most recent summer, she worked as an intern at Ursa Major Technologies in Colorado and continues part-time remote work this fall for the company, which delivers aerospace and defense solutions.

“I learned a lot about accounting,” she said. “I learned even more about networking and putting yourself out there, and communication is a big one. But it was a really neat experience to go out and do something completely on my own for the first time.”

Together, Maryanna, Powell and Lola are active in the Honors Program at Northwest and The Lighthouse campus ministry. Maryanna leads Bible studies for women and joins The Lighthouse worship team as a keyboardist and vocalist.

During the spring of 2024 and 2025, Maryanna participated in Beach Reach, a service program that provided free shuttle services while ministering to college students visiting Panama City Beach, Florida, during spring break.

Last spring, Maryanna traveled with students representing The Lighthouse to Burnsville, North Carolina, where they assisted residents still dealing with the effects of Hurricane Helene in 2024.

“The homeowners that we worked for were super grateful, even in the midst of everything that they had lost, which was really encouraging, and super thankful I got to have that opportunity,” she said.

Maryanna says her parents emphasize lifelong learning, and she and her siblings are extending that value as they pursue degrees at Northwest.

“They’ve encouraged us as we’ve gotten older to never stop learning,” Maryanna said. “Even after you graduate high school, after you graduate college, never stop learning and just always be curious – on top of seeking and building community and being encouraging of one another and being grateful and being humble. Those are all values that Mom and Dad gained at Northwest and then instilled in us, hopefully, and now we get to work and give back to people while we are at Northwest.”