“I chose Marshall University for three reasons: the fact that the Lewis College of Business is Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (A.A.C.S.B.) accredited, the affordability of living a lifestyle and the ‘We Are Marshall’ movie. That movie made me become passionate about the school since I have also lost a loved one before.” Matilda Derby’s reasoning for choosing Marshall sounds like many others, but the truth is she could have gone anywhere. Choosing Marshall from Accra, Ghana, Matilda is in the second year of her Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) program where she is studying with an emphasis in finance. She most enjoys the marketing and finance courses in her program. “(During) the transition period, coming from an international background, I was really scared that I would not be able to adapt rapidly to the American and school culture,” she explained. “But I was wrong about how quickly I became comfortable and opened up to my new environment.” Upon graduation, Matilda intends to engage in Optional Practical Training (OPT). This training program allows undergraduate or graduate students who have completed or have been pursuing their degrees for more than three months to work for one year on a student visa toward gaining practical training, per United States Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations. After that, she will return home to take over her mother’s home care business while developing her own organization to empower women. The recipient of the International Peace Scholarship from the Philanthropic Educational Organization (P.E.O.), Matilda describes scholarships as a relief and peace of mind to study and mature academically. “I would like to assure my donors that their funds are invested in my academics and are going to build a nation in the future,” she said. Matilda is involved with Marshall’s World Council. She credits Professors Ben Eng and Uday Tate as her favorites because they have passion for educating future business leaders. “Alumni should give back to invest and empower other students’ academic lives. This goes a long way to make the world a better place,” said Matilda. “I hope that Marshall University becomes a multi-national university. In the next 10 years, I want to see the university expanding physically around the globe and establishing new disciplines in its academic programs.“ A Global Education “My favorite part (of my program) is the sense of family and support I have received from my peers in the program and the biology program overall. I think people often believe that the path to medical school has to be competitive and individualized, but at Marshall, I have found that we all support one another and want to see each other succeed,” said Abbie Short, who is part of Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s Accelerated B.S./M.D. program. The seven-year program allows students to complete both their Bachelor of Science degree and Doctor of Medicine program with guaranteed acceptance into the medical school upon completion of program requirements. It also provides a tuition waiver for the medical school portion of the program. Abbie will begin pursuing her Doctor of Medicine degree this fall after she completes her biology degree, with minors in chemistry, sociology and psychology. “I had the opportunity to add a few sociology and psychology classes to my schedule, along with my standard science classes. I love getting to explore new disciplines and classes beyond what I traditionally see and hope to take additional courses to continue learning more about these fields,” she said, crediting Dr. Maggie Stone and Dr. Leslie Frost as two of her favorite professors. “Dr. Stone was the one who inspired me to get a sociology minor and really changed the way I viewed the world. Dr. Frost has pushed me to become better at biology and chemistry and has given me the opportunity to work in her research lab, something I never imagined I would get to do before I came to Marshall.” Growing up in Hurricane, West Virginia, Abbie always felt attached to the Marshall community. “I knew I wanted to continue running cross country and track in college and Marshall offered me a position on the team. Once I was accepted into the B.S./M.D. program as well, I knew it was the perfect fit for me,” she explained. Her hard work in both fields was recognized last fall when she was one of six women selected to the 2018 Conference USA All- Running to Medicine