Two Marshall alumni have created a scholarship for students in the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine.

Patrick Stone, M.D., and Cynthia Coleman, MSN-FNP, are the founders of the Dr. Patrick A. Stone and Cynthia E. Coleman Scholarship for first-year medical students.  

Stone is a 1999 graduate of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine. He is currently a professor and vice chair of operations at Vanderbilt University in the vascular surgery department. 

Coleman serves as the senior director of clinical services implementation at Edwards Lifesciences.

The pair is no stranger to overcoming adversity. Stone gained an interest in the medical field as a child following the death of his mother. Coleman has passed her passion down to her daughter, whom she had as a teenager. 

Both are eager to assist medical students as they seek to influence West Virginia healthcare.

“Growing up in West Virginia, we both dreamed of the endless opportunities careers in health care represented,” they said in a Marshall University press release. “We were both determined to achieve more than our circumstances. It is exciting to be at a place in our careers where we can see the fruits of those labors and to create a scholarship for future medical students who are dedicated to improving health care in West Virginia.

The fund will be available for students with an annual household income of less than $100,000 and can be renewed for an additional three years, depending on academic progression.

Those who are interested in applying or donating to the new Scholarship should contact Linda Holmes, the school’s director of alumni affairs at 304-691-1711 or [email protected].