{"id":265,"date":"2023-07-17T20:42:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-17T20:42:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/?p=265"},"modified":"2023-07-17T20:42:24","modified_gmt":"2023-07-17T20:42:24","slug":"marshall-for-all-a-lifesaver-for-incoming-member-of-the-herd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/2023\/07\/17\/marshall-for-all-a-lifesaver-for-incoming-member-of-the-herd\/","title":{"rendered":"Marshall for All a \u2018lifesaver\u2019 for incoming member of the Herd"},"content":{"rendered":"
It was Friday, May 12, when Marshall sent out its first round of letters inviting 100 students to participate in Marshall for All \u2014 an initiative announced last year by President Brad D. Smith to help students earn a bachelor\u2019s degree debt-free. By Monday, Jennifer Jimison, project manager over Marshall for All, got her first response.<\/p>\n

\"Skyla<\/p>\n

It was from Skyla Hilliard, a 17-year-old from Portsmouth, Ohio, who completed her high school education through the Ohio Virtual Academy and plans to become an anesthesiologist.<\/p>\n

For Skyla, the Marshall for All program was exactly what she never knew she needed. As a high-achieving student who has been raised by her grandparents, she remembers being in ninth grade, looking at the price of college, and realizing that covering the cost was going to be harder than she\u2019d ever imagined.<\/p>\n

\u201cTuition was a big thing for me. I was like, \u2018I don\u2019t know if I can cover this. I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m going to do.\u2019 I was kind of having a freak-out,\u201d said Skyla, a first-generation college student in her family. \u201cThis thing shows up in the mail, and I was like, \u2018Oh my gosh. Lifesaver, right here.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Marshall University has launched Marshall for All this year with hopes to expand over the next 10 years, allowing Marshall students to combine scholarships, grants, work opportunities and family contributions to earn their bachelor\u2019s degrees without needing student loans. In return, it asks students to maintain 15 credit hours per semester with satisfactory academic progress, to file a FAFSA form annually, to work a paid internship or federal work study position, to complete a financial literacy course and to participate in career readiness and\/or other learning experiences.<\/p>\n

\n\t“This was a blessing. I was unaware of it, but I needed it, and it saved my life.”<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t- Skyla Hilliard<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

The letter that Skyla received was the first she\u2019d heard about the pilot program. She emailed Jimison\u2019s office with a few questions, tears in her eyes, and a promise to give both her and President Smith a hug someday. Then she turned in her application and seized her moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a blessing. I was unaware of it, but I needed it, and it saved my life,\u201d she said. \u201cI was panicking about staying on campus. The plan is to cover as much as I can by myself with my scholarships. The Marshall for All program really helps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plus, she\u2019d visited Marshall\u2019s Huntington campus before and loved it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember walking onto Marshall\u2019s campus and being like, \u2018Wow this place is beautiful. I love it,\u2019\u201d Skyla said. \u201cThis was closer to home, but it\u2019s not right there, which seems like a good fit for me. It\u2019s not super big. It has the spirit and life of a big school, but it\u2019s close and tightly knit. That\u2019s the place I want to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

She likes that she\u2019s close enough to get back home, if her grandparents need her, but she\u2019s ready to take that step forward in life. She\u2019ll start with moving into Twin Towers next month and working toward earning a bachelor\u2019s degree in nursing, with dreams of being an anesthesiologist on the horizon. College life might be a small shock to the system after going to online school since the start of COVID-19, but she was optimistic as she attended orientation this month.<\/p>\n

\u201cWalking in today, I had some anxiety hit me in the face because I\u2019ve been online and I lost that social scene,\u201d Skyla said. \u201cThe biggest thing for me is putting myself back out there for people to see and regaining my social skills. I am a bubbly person, but my social skills have gone downhill since the start of online schooling.<\/p>\n

\n\t“I\u2019ll bring what I can to the table and contribute to the Marshall family any way I can.\u00a0 With the Marshall for All program, it will help me get involved with the school.”<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t- Skyla Hilliard<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n

\u201cI did leadership programs online, and I want to get involved in leadership programs and things Marshall does with the community. I\u2019ll bring what I can to the table and contribute to the Marshall family any way I can. \u00a0With the Marshall for All program, it will help me get involved with the school.\u201d<\/p>\n

She even plans to contribute and give back after graduating and becoming an alumna. \u00a0\u201cI want to start up my own scholarship because I think it is important for high school students to get a college education and be able to put their best foot forward, especially since I\u2019m first generation. I want them to be able to come in and not be scared or anything like that. \u00a0I don\u2019t want financials to be an issue. That\u2019s what draws people away and panics people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Skyla<\/p>\n

She knows her dad is excited for her and her grandparents, John and Brenda Bevins, are so proud. Both of them started college but never finished.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandparents \u2013 they\u2019ve always pushed me to give nothing less than 100%,\u201d Skyla said. \u201cThey don\u2019t like bad grades, slacking. They want me to strive and thrive under pressure and get through all this major stuff. They\u2019re my biggest support system. They\u2019re the reason I\u2019m here today.\u201d<\/p>\n

She really wants to help her grandmother, who has had some surgeries lately.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big science person, and anything that can help people medically stands out to me,\u201d Skyla said. \u201cWe\u2019re going through a lot of medical stuff, and my grandma is like, \u2018What does this mean?\u2019 At this point, I can\u2019t tell you, but give me a couple years, and I\u2019ll let you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her grandfather works on 18-wheelers and appreciates a nice vehicle. He gave Skyla a challenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe says, \u2018Hopefully one day, you\u2019ll buy me a new, shiny Corvette,\u2019\u201d Sklya said. \u201cI\u2019m working on it, I\u2019m working on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

To learn more about Marshall for All, visit www.marshall.edu\/marshallforall<\/a>.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was Friday, May 12, when Marshall sent out its first round of letters inviting 100 students to participate in Marshall for All \u2014 an initiative announced last year by President Brad D. Smith to help students earn a bachelor\u2019s degree debt-free. By Monday, Jennifer Jimison, project manager over Marshall for All, got her first […]<\/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-265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-moments"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265","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=265"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":274,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265\/revisions\/274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/moments\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}