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Month: January 2023

Dr. Friday Simpson had an unconventional path to becoming a doctor.

Originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, Simpson flew from Panama City, Florida, to Phoenix, Arizona, as a commercial charter pilot for 14 years. After so long, Simpson decided to pursue what she had always loved – medicine.

With some encouragement from her late husband Ted, a Huntington native, she applied and was accepted at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine with dreams of becoming a physician. The process is a bit different than learning to fly.

“In medical school, it just seems like it never quits. Twenty-nine graduate hours in medical school per semester, that was a lot tougher, much, much tougher than an undergraduate course. So yeah, the discipline was different,” Simpson said.

Simpson now has a scholarship for medical students who commit to practicing in rural West Virginia. She hopes to be a small part of keeping talented physicians in towns where they are needed the most.

Simpson knows the battle of completing medical school firsthand. She was diagnosed with lymphoma during her time in medical school, which forced her to put a pause on her studies. She believes her experience with cancer has given her compassion for her patients that she could have never had otherwise.

“That gives me a new perspective on compassion for people who are ill because nobody really knows what’s that’s like unless you’ve been there,” she said. “You know you go to a doctor; you’re having a checkup and they say you have cancer. That didn’t happen to me like that, but I know what happens to my patients a lot. And when they hear that word it is very devastating. It was devastating to me.”

Simpson now aims to give back in more ways than one, with compassion for her patients, and financial assistance that will empower the next generation of healers.

“You know, I could leave here today and not take a thing with me or whatever and make three times as much money working 40 hours a week and let everybody else take care of all the rest of it and not have a thought about it. But it doesn’t help our medical community if I do that.”

Simpson knows the financial strain placed on medical students after they graduate often makes them more likely to be forced to leave West Virginia or other rural communities. She believes scholarships will help more students say yes to staying where many want to be all along – home.

“So it may not be a whole lot, but every time that you lower $1,000 for them, it’s more likely that they might stay in this area to practice,” Simpson said.

Simpson now practices privately in Huntington and prefers the advantages, including the unconventional aspects she is allowed to bring into her office. Upon walking into her office, one will quickly see a few feline friends roaming the halls, and her reception area is less like a traditional doctor’s waiting area, but more like a living room in a home. Across the walls are photos of her and her husband taken on their many cruise trips. She says patients prefer the less intimidating feel of her office, and that private practice gives her more time to spend with each patient.

Simpson said she prefers working this way, even if she could make more money elsewhere. She knows where she is needed, and where she will make the most impact.

Simpson, like any doctor, knows the ups and downs that accompany the territory. Being a doctor comes with hard work and often having to give bad news.

“I’ve known when some of them are leaving here that it will be the last time I will see them. And we’ve told them that. That’s the hard part,” she said. “I’ve said, ‘This will probably be the last time that I see you as a patient.’ And then some of my patients have spouses that are ill that aren’t even my patients. And you can help them along to understand what they’re going through a little bit more.”

Although being a doctor has its heavy moments, there are also moments of success, healing and fun. Simpson’s personality and style have become a part of her everyday work.

“I think my patients see me a little bit differently, as more of a friend-kind of a doctor,” she said “In fact, they tell people this is my friend…I’m a family doctor. I enjoy joking…In fact, we were talking yesterday, if somebody comes in and I’m not joking, or laughing with them, or some sarcasm, that they think I’m ill, because they expect that after a while.”

Simpson doesn’t expect future students to follow in her exact footsteps but hopes some will be inspired to stay in the Mountain State. A little can go a long way, and it might be the difference for someone else.

Marshall University and all its iterations have always relied upon the support of the community to survive. 

Local residents built the first Marshall structure on the small hillside where Old Main now resides. The property was purchased by John Laidley, a prominent local lawyer, from James Holderby – both familiar names on campus still today.  

When then Marshall Academy fell on financial troubles before the Civil War and Laidley’s son put the property up for auction, a Guyandotte woman by the name of Salina Cordelia Hite Mason purchased it. A teacher herself, she had no issues satisfying the original deed by using the property for educational purposes. According to the university archives, she and her two sisters, Katie Hite and Mrs. Addie C. Holderby, all of whom were experienced teachers, taught classes while they lived there, providing education to the community during the war. After her husband died in 1863, Mason invested money from her husband’s estate in the college, in order that she might preserve it from reverting to the original owner. The West Virginia Legislature established the State Normal School at Marshall College in 1867 and Mason sold the property, though she continued to teach at the prep school. 

The then-college weathered another war that dipped enrollment, but as soon as World War II was over, the college saw record enrollment. By 1946, the college realized the faculty, physical plant and curriculum were all inadequate for the post-war influx of students.   

Again, Marshall supporters stepped up to the plate. 

On Jan. 3, 1947, five Marshall alumni and supporters signed the articles of incorporation that established the Marshall University Foundation Inc. The mission of the Foundation is to maximize continuous financial support for Marshall and its students by soliciting, receiving, investing and administering private gift support.  

Frank E. Hanshaw Sr. was among the founders, and he served as the first Foundation president until 1954, though he remained active with the Foundation for 40 years and was serving as the chair of the Gifts, Memorials and Income Committee of the board of directors at the time of his death in 1987. 

The Foundation staff remained small through the 2000s but began to outgrow its third-floor space in Old Main. The board of directors began discussing finding the Foundation its own building.  

“We wanted to be more visible and accessible,” said Pam Nibert, vice president of administration and executive assistant to the chief executive officer, who has been with the Foundation for 26 years.  

At the same time, the Marshall University Alumni Association, which was not incorporated at the time, was also looking to have its own space. In fact, the association had already raised a significant amount in donations. So, the Foundation and Alumni Association joined hands. With principal coordination by foundation board member, Tim Haymaker, work began to build a brand-new building along Fifth Avenue that would house both entities. 

Haymaker, a 1969 Marshall graduate and real estate developer based in Lexington, Kentucky, used his expertise to lead the development of the new location. The 2nd floor mezzanine is named for him, in honor of his “outstanding generosity, remarkable innovation and exceptional leadership.” His dedication advanced this project from conception to reality. 

Despite the 2008 market crash leading to rising construction costs, the Foundation board of directors pushed forward with construction thanks to donor support.  

Foundation Hall, home of the Erickson Alumni Center, opened in 2010. It would later be renamed the Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall in 2015 in honor of the philanthropist and CEO for his transformational gift to the university. 

Now, 75 years since the articles of incorporation were signed, the Foundation supports a staff of about 35 full-time employees and is continuing to grow thanks in part to the success of the Marshall Rises comprehensive campaign. The staff at the Marshall Foundation will continue to work with the Marshall community to ensure Marshall continues to thrive.  

What gift is more valuable for a university: A mega-million-dollar gift from an individual, business or organization or thousands of smaller gifts from across the university’s alumni and friends? The answer of course, is they are both extremely significant.

“It takes each gift, no matter the size, to continue to support and grow the university and its initiatives, and we rely on the large transformative gifts to tackle big projects and make big plans,” said Dr. Ron Area, chief executive officer of the Marshall University Foundation. “But what are equally important are the grassroots efforts. These gifts send messages to the administration of our Marshall University family’s priorities and passions.”

We’ve all seen the requests in our social media feeds, asking for support from the local kids’ ball club, primary or secondary school and even for a family or specific individual who has been met with challenging circumstances and someone, sometimes on their behalf, reaches out in the hopes of fundraising monies to cover the expenses.

“Crowdfunding,” defined in the Merriam Webster dictionary as “the practice of obtaining needed funding by soliciting contributions from a large number of people especially from the online community,” has replaced the door-to-door sales of youngsters hocking wrapping paper and candy bars and moved it all online. It is convenient, for most “in the palm of their hand” and people give to the causes that often tug at their heart strings or resonate with them personally in the moment.

For the Marshall Foundation, introducing its own crowdfunding tool this past August 2022, was not only requested by departments, but it was also a necessary instrument to own the solicitation and stewardship process. Gifts being solicited by internal Marshall programs through outside crowdfunding sources, were challenging to track, receipt and acknowledge.

“We had been asked repeatedly if we had the capability and began looking for options available and what other universities were doing to fill that need,” said Griffin Talbott, program director of the annual fund. “If we aren’t providing a tool, someone else will.”

Other crowdfunding platforms like GoFundMe or offered through Facebook were not providing adequate information about who the donations were coming from, or how much each individual donation totaled. Most often, a lump sum would be received, weeks, sometimes months after the fundraiser had ended with no detailed documentation. This left the Marshall Foundation no choice but to deposit without acknowledging the true donors.

“Having our own crowdfunding tool helps to bring function inside our organization so we don’t rely on outside reporting and money collecting procedures,” Talbott said. “Our crowdfunding tool is also able to be used across multiple social media platforms for awareness, but yet has a centralized backend reporting and acknowledgement structure that caters to several of our stewardship priorities such as tracking giving history, providing tax receipts for charitable deductions and acknowledging active alumni memberships.”

Targeted for use by departments and colleges across campus, the Marshall Foundation crowdfunding platform seeks to fill a need that departments and colleges have for grassroots fundraising over a short period of time for a specific project or passion. One of the first departments to use the tool was the June Harless Center for Rural Educational Research and Development, a subsidiary department housed within the Marshall University College of Education and Professional Development.

The June Harless Center’s mission is to provide leadership in education initiatives for West Virginia educators and students. The Center provides educators and families in rural West Virginia with a support system that addresses educational problems, sustains school improvement and provides positive growth in all educational factors.

“The site was set up about a week in advance of our large in-person event in Charleston on Aug. 9,” said Alicia Syner, program developer of the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in West Virginia. “We had hoped to collect $20,000 in donations from supporters leading up to the event and by using the QR Code to donate online while physically at the event. To date we have received close to $6,000 through the crowdfunding campaign. We plan to keep the page available through December 2022.”

The event, which celebrated West Virginia’s statewide participation in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, raised $45,000 additionally through sponsorships and a silent auction at the event, but the crowdfunding component was the first of its kind.

“The June Harless Center was looking for a fundraising platform that was zero to low-cost, would generate a QR code for donations and be user-friendly,” Syner said. They considered choosing Mighty Cause and Facebook as their crowdfunding tool but wanted the option to “thank donors specifically and track donor information more easily through the Marshall Foundation platform.”

“For our next fundraiser, I would take full advantage of the tool by customizing a thank you letter and email as well as uploading a video,” Syner said. “The Marshall University Foundation crowdfunding tool is easy to navigate and share with donors. We could not have pulled this off without Griffin and his team. I highly recommend using this tool for your next fundraiser.”

Interested Marshall University departments may apply online by visiting the giving website. There are policies and guidelines in place to assist a group in determining if they are prepared to launch a crowdfunding campaign and each project submitted is thoroughly reviewed. Only a select number of campaigns will run “live” at any one time, to prevent overcrowding of competition, and there is a donor wall for each project that allows supporters to be recognized, if they choose, and motivate others to become involved.

Project coordinators should be faculty or staff at Marshall University, have the sponsorship of their department chair and/or dean of the college, at least three people assigned to their team, seed money for 50% of the goal, photos, videos and a designated project or initiative with a specific timetable of how they plan to reach that objective.

“Donors are giving online, and this crowdfunding tool goes hand-in-hand with that trend,” Talbott said. “It is easy for departments and schools to get started and easy for donors to react.”

For more information about the Marshall Foundation crowdfunding tool, you can contact development@marshall.edu or visit https://give.marshall.edu/submit-application to apply.

Growing up, they all looked to the sky. When others dreamt of careers on the ground, they dreamt of soaring with the birds.

Many didn’t think they would do more than dream until they heard the announcement that changed their lives – Marshall University was opening a flight school.

“I was set to study biology,” said Kristen Sayre, a member of the inaugural class of the Bill Noe Flight School and St. Albans native. “I planned to obtain my undergraduate degree out of state. Throughout my senior year of high school, my sights were set on leaving my home state because I did not yet see the opportunities it had for me.”

Sayre isn’t the only one who changed her plans.

Ben Epperly graduated from George Washington High School in Charleston in 2020 and didn’t know what he was going to do. He knew he was interested in aviation, but it wasn’t until Marshall opened the flight school that he could pursue the dream.

Josh Lucas grew up wanting to be a pilot and a police officer. With no path toward the former, he followed the path of law enforcement, serving Marshall’s campus, the cities of Milton and Hurricane, and the Office of the West Virginia Attorney General. The support of his wife and family led him to pursue his other dream of flying.

“Flight instruction has been a dream of mine since I was little,” Lucas said. “But I didn’t want to leave West Virginia. I got married, I have my house and eventually I want to have a family here. It was a no brainer as soon as Marshall opened.”

The Bill Noe Flight School welcomed its first class in the fall of 2021. Housed at West Virginia International Yeager Airport in Charleston, the four-year program leads to a series of Federal Aviation Administration certifications and prepares graduates to become commercial pilots of single and multi-engine aircraft. Lucas and Epperly are among the first students to receive their private pilot licenses.

Amelia Earheart said, “The lure of flying is the lure of beauty,” and that is true for the students at the flight school.

“When you take off and go through the clouds and get above the cloud layer, the scene you see is breathtaking,” Lucas said. “Down on the ground it can be raining, dark and gloomy, but in just a few minutes you pop above the clouds to the sky.”

Scholarships have assisted in helping make these local students’ dreams come true. Sayre, Lucas and Epperly are all recipients of the Lemotto Smith Trust Scholarship, a general scholarship created by the estate of Mr. Lemotto Smith, a Huntington business owner who died in 1987 at the age of 103.

“Scholarships have given me the promise that my family and I will be able to make my attendance in this program work despite the fact that aviation is financially demanding and our socioeconomic status traditionally does not support such a lifestyle,” Sayre said.

Scholarships helped Lucas make the decision to leave his full-time job to go back to school.

“There are no words to describe what it means to me,” he said. “Especially coming from a full-time job to a situation where I can’t work full time, it makes it so much easier. Whether it’s $50 or $1,000, it’s one more piece of the puzzle that goes toward our education and making achieving our dreams possible. I’m not used to getting scholarships or having anyone give me anything. I can’t say thank you enough. Without it, it makes it difficult.”

The scholarships have also inspired the students to want to give back themselves.

“Since the beginning of my attendance, I have actively been working with Marshall to establish more scholarships and honors programs for the flight school so others have the opportunity to become professional pilots,” Sayre said.

Sayre also wants to become a flight instructor.

“I wanted to be a teacher since a young age, so with that I can be a teacher for one of the most amazing things in the world,” she said.

“I have not bought into the idea that what one does for work has to be a job,” Sayre continued. “Being a pilot for most is not a job, it’s a passion and you get to take part in things very few do. I love the idea of mobility and the freedom associated with it. I aim to inspire others to reach for the stars as well.”

Lucas would also like to be a flight instructor and dreams of combining his passion for civil service with his passion for flight through something like medical flights.

With access to commercial flights, corporate and general aviation facilities, an Air National Guard base, the West Virginia State Division of Aviation, a port of international entry and the flight school, graduates of this program will be well-equipped for whatever path they take.

And they will be highly sought after. It is estimated that over the next two decades, 87 new pilots will need to be trained and ready to fly a commercial airliner every day to meet the demand for air travel. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, overall employment of airline and commercial pilots was projected to grow 6% from 2018 to 2028. Most job opportunities will arise from the need to replace pilots who leave the occupation permanently over the projection period. The median annual wage for airline pilots, copilots and flight engineers was $147,220 in May 2019. The median annual wage for commercial pilots was $86,080.

Maxine Hurst and her husband Wilburn gave to worthy causes all their lives. With no children of their own, they were able to support their own and other churches, charities and civic projects, as well as supporting their family and friends.

“They never sought credit or recognition,” said Maxine Hurst’s cousin Keith Wellman. “For all of their generosity over the years, Maxine’s final request was to leave the bulk of her estate to her beloved alma mater Marshall University.”

Funded by their estate, the Wilburn and Maxine Hurst Academic Scholarship supports Cabell and Wayne county students in the College of Education and Professional Development. Before her passing in 2018, Maxine Hurst also established the Mona Wellman Samson Scholarship Fund in honor of her mother who was a longtime teacher in Cabell and Wayne counties. That scholarship also supports Wayne County graduates.

Sophomore nursing major Kami Chapman, from Wayne, West Virginia, is one of the recipients of the Mona Wellman Samson Scholarship. Chapman said she wants to be a nurse because it impacts people’s lives in a hands-on environment with person-to-person contact.

“My scholarships have pushed me to spend more time on campus studying to keep the scholarships,” Chapman said. “I would love to tell Mrs. Hurst thank you for leaving your estate to the university in order to help students pursuing their careers.”

Following in her mother’s footsteps, Hurst was also an educator, teaching high school math for more than 40 years.

“Several years ago, because I was also a teacher, she gave me the school bell her mother – my Aunt Mona Samson – had used during her first one-room schoolhouse teaching assignments,” Wellman said. “I will gift it to my daughter who is also a teacher.”

Hurst received her teaching degree from Marshall and graduated with honors. She went on to get her master’s degree in mathematics from Columbia.

“In 40-plus years of teaching, she was a no-nonsense individual and expected her math students to be the same,” Wellman said. “As with her students, Maxine had high expectations for the younger members of our extended family. She stayed on top of us. When asked how we were doing she generally meant in our academics. I always sought her approval.”

Wellman said his oldest cousin was intelligent, confident, well-organized and strong. She knew how things worked and could fix or repair virtually anything mechanical.

He said her message to all students would be to work hard on your studies and value your education for it is an opportunity of a lifetime.