Through her clinical externship with Hope Speaks, Eleni was able to gain a greater understanding of the power of speech-language pathology and how speech can change lives on a daily basis. The scholarship she received as a graduate student to make this experience a reality was vitally important. Without the academic and financial support provided to Eleni, she would never have had the chance to discover more about the world we live in.

“The ability to be immersed in a diverse culture while attaining firsthand clinical experience serves as a unique learning opportunity for students. As a student and graduate clinician, I learned so much being in Uganda, and I know that these are lessons I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Learning to navigate linguistic and cultural barriers, experiencing a completely new culture and country, and working directly with families in difficult situations are skills that transcend the classroom. Providing students with opportunities like these allows them to broaden their creativity, confidence, and professional abilities and develop a greater understanding of people from all cultures and backgrounds.”

Through the support of generous donors, this endowment allowed him to research the impact of learning styles on student outcomes, which ultimately helps his students become even more successful. Professor Tate said that the endowed professorship is a huge opportunity because it has allowed him to be recognized for his contributions to both the university and the students he serves.

“My endowed professorship has nothing to do with me and everything to do with my students. We exist because of our students. If I do good research and share this knowledge with them, then that is what benefits them. Many of us tend to forget this and tend to focus on ourselves, and these endowed professorships remind us of why we are truly here – for our students.”

A recipient of the Presidential Scholarship, the Cranberry Township Rotary Scholarship, the Rachel Librecht Scholarship, and a National Honor Society Scholarship, Jake shared that these scholarships allow him to focus on activities that enhance his educational experience.

“These scholarships mean the world to me. Without this support, I would not be here. All of my success is credited to these generous donors, and I am beyond grateful. Without alumni donations, our university would not be able to grow.”

Marshall University is one of only three universities in the country offering the H.E.L.P. program – an advanced support structure focusing on Higher Education for Students with Learning Problems. When Jake learned of the H.E.L.P program during his tour of the state-of-the-art Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex, he knew Marshall cares deeply about students and the facilities in which they learn.

“As a H.E.L.P student, we have the privilege to learn in technologically advanced classrooms that give us the opportunity to collaborate and work in teams to complete lab assignments, projects, and even practicums.”

Amy Saunders serves as the principal investigator for a three-year, $1 million grant that provides evidence-based prevention and early intervention training to health care students, faculty, and community members to identify substance misuse. Amy shared that the SBIRT training, otherwise known as Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment, has been administered to more than 3,500 health care students and providers.

“SBIRT has been a huge success and has allowed us to train faculty and emerging health care students about substance use disorder and its impact on our community. We are collaborating with the City of Huntington as well as several departments at the university to address the health disparities associated with this growing epidemic.”

Marshall University was granted $1 million as part of a joint effort with another state institution to develop consumer-related information and programming for West Virginians who may not know what they are entitled to regarding their consumer rights.

“We need more people like consumer attorney and Marshall alumni David Romano. He has led the efforts to make the donations possible for us to establish this amazing partnership, which will change the lives of West Virginians for years to come. Without supporters like him, it would be very difficult to strengthen the community and the state we live in.”