A Head Start Without Debt

When Payton Austin’s mom sent her a photo of a letter that had arrived in the mail, Payton wasn’t quite sure she believed what she was reading.

The Nitro, West Virginia, student had been selected to participate in Marshall For All, Marshall University’s innovative program designed to help students earn their bachelor’s degrees without student loan debt.

“I cried really, really hard,” Payton said.

College debt had been one of the things weighing on her as she considered where she would spend the next several years. She considered attending college in Louisville or even Texas as she explored her interest in becoming a veterinarian, particularly working in equine surgery.

But she also knew what those options could cost.

“I’m going to be paying off my loans for the rest of my life,” Payton recalled thinking. “I’m going to be in debt, and I’m not going to be able to do the things I want to do.”

Then the Marshall For All letter arrived.

Her mother, Amber Mace, read the letter more than once herself.

Amber, a Marshall alumna and high school counselor at Nitro High School, knew what the opportunity could mean for her daughter. She also knew firsthand what it was like to leave college carrying student debt.

“Oh, it means so much,” Amber said. “I went to Marshall and came out with quite a bit of debt. So, for my child, it just means a lot.”

The family had always planned to find a way to make college possible for Payton, but finances inevitably factored into those conversations.

“We wanted her to go to school. We wanted her to choose where she wanted to go, but finances are always in the back of your mind,” Amber said. “This is a blessing for us and our family to have this opportunity.”

For Payton, Marshall For All helped make the decision about college clearer. Her mother and aunt are both alumnae, and Payton had already been a Marshall student through Marshall’s Herd Academy where she took dual enrollment courses while in high school, completing college-level coursework and earning Marshall credits before graduation.

“I got a lot of my core credits out of the way,” Payton said. “I’m starting as a sophomore, and when I finish the fall semester, I’m going to be a junior in college technically, which is weird to think about.”

Those credits also helped Payton graduate from high school early.

For Amber, who helps oversee Herd Academy students at Nitro, her daughter’s experience is just one example of what she has watched the program do for students throughout the school.

“There are kids that take courses that maybe might not even think that they could be successful in a college course,” she said. “They get in there, they take these classes, and I think that it’s providing them that clarity that they’re capable of doing something more.”

These experiences give high school students a chance to picture themselves succeeding in college. Amber believes this is helping more students see Marshall as the natural next step after high school.

“This year I noticed way more kids going to Marshall than I ever have in the 10 years that I’ve been a high school counselor,” Amber said. “I really think that has a lot to do with the Herd Academy because they’ve already started their path.”

Payton is now continuing hers at Marshall.

Although she currently dreams of becoming a veterinarian, she knows college may introduce her to possibilities she hasn’t considered yet. Her mother knows that, too.

“She has a dream of being a vet, but that could change,” Amber said. “Whatever she does, I know she’ll be successful and work hard at it. We’re proud of her.”

What Marshall For All has given Payton is more freedom to think about those possibilities without the worry of debt hanging over her.

Another part of the Marshall For All experience that has impacted Payton is knowing that people she may never meet were willing to invest in her future.

It’s an opportunity she doesn’t take lightly.

Payton admits she still hasn’t completely processed what it means to have the chance to earn her Marshall degree without student loan debt. But she has already met one person closely associated with making that opportunity possible.

During orientation, she spotted Marshall President Brad D. Smith and asked him for a selfie.

“I immediately texted my mom,” Payton said. “I was like, ‘I just took a selfie with President Brad Smith.’”

For a student who entered Marshall already well ahead on college credits, orientation marked the beginning of a new chapter. Payton has a head start on her degree, a goal for where it might take her and, thanks to Marshall For All, freedom to imagine everything she can do along the way.