Marshall For All, a program designed to eliminate student debt, received a milestone donation of $50 million this week from Marshall’s very own president, Brad D. Smith.

The gift is the largest ever given to the university and the largest personal contribution by any sitting university president to their own institution.

“We are honored to support Marshall University and the Marshall For All program with this gift,” the Smiths said. “Our ‘why’ is simple: To level the playing field in West Virginia and Appalachia.”

What does Marshall For All really do for students? 

There are two versions of the program: Debt-free and tuition-free.

“It pays for your college, it pays for tuition, it pays for your house and it pays for your books,”criminal justice major Lacie Brenner said. “It has given me opportunities that I would’ve previously cowered away from because I would’ve already been paying for school. Those opportunities would’ve been too expensive.”

Brenner said she can be more involved on campus.

“I’m a part of a sorority on campus, Omega Phi Alpha,” she said. “I would’ve never done that if I were paying for college on top of all this.”

The program, Brenner said, seemed too good to be true when she first heard of it as a freshman.

“I called my mom and asked her to figure out if this was real or not because it seemed like I was being told a lie or something,” she said. 

Freshman English major Audrey Dotson is also in the program. 

“I was looking at my total for the first two semesters, fall and spring, and I was sweating,” she said. “I had no idea what I was going to do.”

Marshall For All, Brenner said, made her desired future accessible. 

“I couldn’t even think of going to grad school when I was looking at those undergrad payments,” she said.

The program assigns mentors, she said, and hers has been a lifesaver.

“If I don’t know where to go for something, my mentor is always there for me,” she said. “It has given me people on campus that I wouldn’t have had before.”

Mentors host office hours, and students, Dotson said, can ask about anything. 

“My mentor walked me to class the week of moving in because I had no idea how to get anywhere,” she said, “and she didn’t have to do that.”

Freshmen, she said, should know Marshall For All requires extra work because of an extra required university class, but the opportunity is worth it.

Holly Belmont can be contacted at [email protected].