Marshall University Alumni Association

If so, send you story to alumni@marshall.edu and we will include them
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Olive Hager (’57,’60). Two years ago when I attended a football game out of town, my friends and I went to the beach after the game. I had broken my toe, so I couldn't walk barefooted in the sand. I put on my white socks with MARSHALL in green along the tops. As I walk along the beach, I heard a man yell, "Go Herd!" I stopped to talk to him. I said, "I must be getting old. Here I am in just a bathing suit and all you notice is my socks!" Me and my mouth!

Janet Bennett (MSN-FNP'99). When we moved to Fort Defiance on the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona, we had to bring all our Marshall paraphernalia. We moved here in late June. Occasionally a visitor would comment on one of our posters, wall hangings, plaques or clock. After all, we have achieved National Recognition, right? But the funniest exchanges came after “the movie” was released last fall. People would see our collections around the house and make remarks like: “Did this come from the movie?” “How did you get this in so quickly?” I would try to summarize the story and explain how we do the cheer. I certainly miss the campus and the games.

Kimberli Brown Gomez ('88,'91). I live in El Paso, Texas! In 2005 when Marshall came to play in El Paso I was pregnant with my first child. My mom, who lives in Bridgeport, W.Va., mailed me an MU shirt to wear to the game. During the tailgate, I got a lot of hassle from friends and other Miner fans about wearing a MU shirt. They asked if I was only wearing it because I did not have a Miner shirt to fit my pregnant belly. I proudly told everyone that I graduated from Marshall and that this baby would go to college there also. Despite sitting with Miners in a field of Orange during the game and losing horribly, I proudly wore my Marshall shirt. When I attended the movie wearing a We Are Marshall shirt, people asked me where I bought it and if I just bought it because of the movie. I proudly educated them about my time at Marshall and the memorial service each year at the fountain in November.

Kerri Barnhart (BA'97). I always travel in Herd gear, so it's happened just about everywhere -- driving along Ocean Boulevard at Myrtle Beach, walking into a Wal-Mart in Raleigh, cheering at a Carolina Hurricanes game. Recently, I did the Myrtle Beach half-marathon and my running buddy could not believe how easily I spotted Marshall stuff, whether it was the earband of the woman next to us waiting for the start or the front license plate of a vehicle along the route. At the runner's expo the day before, I had on a Herd sweatshirt and one guy told me he's an ECU guy, but his father-in-law is a Marshall grad. I turned around and a woman told me that her sister is graduating from Marshall in May. In February 2004, a friend and I decided to get out of town for a four-day cruise. As we returned to Miami on the last morning, we made our way to breakfast in a different dining room than we had been going to. Most of our stuff was packed, so I had on PJ pants and a Marshall pullover and we were seated with a group of people we didn't know. The woman across the table saw my shirt and said, "You went to Marshall?!" I confirmed that we had both attended MU. If I recall correctly, she and her husband were both Marshall grads who still lived in Huntington. We had a great time talking about Huntington and Marshall and we even did a "We Are! Marshall!" cheer at the table, though it resulted in strange looks from our dining companions. Other folks don't get that we sons and daughters of Marshall are a large, extended family and I'm not sure any other school has quite the connection we do. Makes me even happier to be an alumna.

Allen Patrick Riggs ('72). After graduating from Marshall I moved to South Florida in 1973. I have always worn the buffalo and the green and white with pride. I have been spotted on many vacations by folks who either knew of Marshall or went to school there. Last summer I went to the final shooting of the We are Marshall movie. I wanted very badly to be an extra. I was there in 1970. As a member of the wrestling team, we shared the locker room with the team. I can never forget that time. I never want to. This past fall on a trip through my hometown, I stocked up on Marshall gear. The old shirts and hat were pretty ragged. I now live in West Palm Beach Florida. Yesterday I attended the annual boat show on the intra coastal waterway. It's quite an affair. There were 40,000 people there and $350 million worth of boats. Naturally I wore my new hat. It's a guaranteed conversation starter. Sure enough, I spoke to four people who wanted to stop me and ask about and relate to me their personal connection to Marshall. It was fantastic. At the end of the day, a young man and his lady friend stopped me as I was about to leave. It turns out he was a Marshall graduate also. Stranger than that, even though he graduated much later than I did, he went to the last shooting of We are Marshall also. He wanted to be a part of the history, as well. Everyone knows Marshall, and not just because of our loss. Everyone knows our strength. We are bound together past and future. Go Herd!

Marion Ellis Peak ('75). I live in St. Petersburg, Fla., and sometimes I feel very far removed from Marshall. To help with these homesick feelings I often wear my Marshall gear, especially the new We are Marshall shirt. Without fail I am always stopped by another Marshall person and we get to reminisce about time spent on campus. Those were glorious days filled with every experience one could hope for. I'll always carry them in my heart. I was there when we lost our football team and as horrendous as that was, I felt the love and common bond with those around me, and it sustained us through those dark days. My parents, uncles, aunts and son were also Marshall graduates. To say that we love our university is quite an understatement. The Thundering Herd is a dear part of my family no matter how far away we are from Huntington.