{"id":1323,"date":"2025-10-08T09:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T09:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/?p=1323"},"modified":"2025-10-07T14:36:38","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T14:36:38","slug":"three-generations-strong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/2025\/10\/08\/three-generations-strong\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Generations Strong"},"content":{"rendered":"
For Sydney Barbour, attending Marshall University wasn\u2019t just a decision\u2014it was a homecoming.<\/p>\n

\"Sydney<\/p>\n

Sydney Barbour, political science major from Ona, West Virginia, is proudly carrying on a three-generation legacy that began with her grandmother, Margaret Wright Miller, in the late 1960s. Margaret was a senior at Marshall during the tragic 1970 plane crash and went on to earn both undergraduate and graduate degrees in education.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a high school senior from Webster County, some classmates and I visited Marshall\u2019s campus, and it just felt right,\u201d Margaret said. \u201cI always say I received a good education at Marshall, and my time there was a positive experience. I think Michele and Sydney understood what I meant\u2014and that perhaps that led them to choose Marshall, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Margaret<\/p>\n

Decades later, Sydney\u2019s mother, Michelle Biggs, followed in her footsteps as a student\u2014and today, serves Marshall as the director of the Herd Academy<\/a> and advisor to the Student Government Association (SGA).<\/p>\n

Sydney\u2019s own Marshall journey began early, when she started taking dual enrollment courses through Marshall\u2019s Herd Academy while still in high school. She said the experience gave her a first glimpse of campus life and made the transition to being a full-time student feel natural.<\/p>\n

\u201cContinuing my family\u2019s legacy was one of the many reasons I chose Marshall,\u201d Sydney said. \u201cEvery day, I feel honored to walk in the footsteps of the successful women before me and work toward my own goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a rising junior, Sydney is charting her own path with a passion for social justice and a plan to attend law school to pursue a career in technology and media law. Through her involvement in the Honors College, Greek life, the Intercultural Learning Community, and SGA, she\u2019s making her mark on campus\u2014just like the women who came before her.<\/p>\n

\"Michelle\u201cIt\u2019s interesting how, although the three of us have attended the same university, we all have had different majors and career aspirations,\u201d she said. \u201cDespite the differences, my grandmother and mother are two of the most hardworking people I know. They\u2019ve inspired me to be a diligent and driven student.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the most special elements of Sydney\u2019s Marshall experience is having her mom close by. While she admits she was initially nervous about the dynamic, Sydney now sees it as a gift.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is extremely supportive of my work and personal goals,\u201d Sydney said. \u201cSome days I\u2019ll pop into her office for a hug, advice or just to hang out\u2014it\u2019s comforting knowing she\u2019s right there if I need her. We\u2019ve also shared moments I\u2019ll always treasure, like participating in the Fountain Ceremony together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sydney<\/p>\n

For Michelle, watching her daughter embrace Marshall life has been a full-circle moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cSydney basically grew up on campus\u2014attending and volunteering at events and riding in the Homecoming parade,\u201d Michelle said. \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing to see her grow through her time here, especially as she\u2019s found her own way while still honoring our family\u2019s legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sydney hopes that Marshall will remain part of her family\u2019s story for generations to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving a fourth generation of my family at Marshall would be outstanding and rewarding,\u201d Sydney said. \u201cThis university is constantly evolving, and I know it will continue to be a remarkable place.\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Sydney Barbour, attending Marshall University wasn\u2019t just a decision\u2014it was a homecoming. Sydney Barbour, political science major from Ona, West Virginia, is proudly carrying on a three-generation legacy that began with her grandmother, Margaret Wright Miller, in the late 1960s. Margaret was a senior at Marshall during the tragic 1970 plane crash and went […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":198,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moments"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/198"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1323"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1333,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1323\/revisions\/1333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}