Marshall Magazine Autumn 2022

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said. “So, she dragged me to Marshall and before I left there that night, I was enrolled again.” Susan’s educational journey crafted some of Kim’s earliest memories and began her love for their shared alma mater. “I can remember going toMarshall withmy momwhen

“Marshall gave him the opportunity to have a career for 24 years in what he loved to do, which was teach music on a high school and middle school level.” “He was a wonderful man who loved Marshall,” Kim echoed. “Sydney knows he’s a powerful influence in my life, even still. I think that influence carries on to her and my other daughter, as well.” What began as a way to honor

she was signing up for classes and standing there in those long lines with her while she was paying her tuition when I was a little girl,” Kim said. In 1983, Susan earned her bachelor's degree in library sci ence and social studies. After graduation, Susan went into teaching, first as a long-term substitute teacher before taking a full-time position at St. Joseph Central Catholic High School in Huntington as the librarian. Susan worked there for 29 years and retired in 2018.

a beloved husband and father, became a significant source of financial reprieve for Sydney. As someone who grew up around the university and watching Marshall sports, Sydney was always inter ested in attending college close to home as part of the Herd. “That’s where my mom and nana went, and they always spoke so highly of it,” Sydney said. “It also worked out that what I wanted to do was at Marshall, too.”

From left, Sydney Wellman (daughter), Kim Wellman (mother) and Susan Poppall (grandmother) all received their degrees from Marshall.

For Kim, she always knew she would attend Marshall. Both of her parents were Marshall graduates, and it was never a question as to where she would complete her degree. She also knew from a young age what her major would be. Larry Popp passed away in January 1990 during Kim’s freshman year. He battled with heart disease for many years, which included an open-heart surgery when Kim was around 9 years old. It was her father’s health struggles that led Kim to become a nurse. “I remember sitting in the lobby of the old St. Mary’s Hospital for hours waiting for him to have heart surgery and I was just inspired by the nurses there,” Kim said. “If I could have the opportunity to provide that care to someone else’s family, I just wanted to be able to do that.” Kim earned an Associate of Applied Science degree in 1991 fromMarshall. She then took all her prerequisite classes at Marshall before attending St. Mary’s School of Nursing, from which she graduated in 1996. In 2005, she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing fromMarshall. Larry’s passing had a profound impact on the entire family. With Kim just beginning her time at Marshall and Susan only mere months into her job at St. Joseph, Susan wanted to find a way to honor his memory. “Every year after my husband died, I’d send a little money to the Foundation in his name,” Susan said.

Sydney began her Marshall journey as a nursing stu dent, like her mother, but soon felt her academic career was leading her down a different path. “I found the biomechanics program in the School of Kinesiology and started that my junior year,” Sydney said. Sydney said she has always loved studying math and the human body. Biomechanics, which is the study of human movement, encapsulated everything she was in terested in. Her graduate program in physical therapy will help her reach her dream, which is to work as a pediatric neurology physical therapist. “I want to work with kids and young adults who have gone through a traumatic brain injury or a spinal cord injury and work with them to rehab them to get better,” Sydney said. Three Marshall alumnae. Three vastly different ma jors. Three stories, bound by a deep appreciation for the university they love. On the day of Sydney’s graduation, the three stood proudly outside of the Mountain Health Arena and com memorated the occasion with a photo as they each held a Marshall Alumni T-shirt that Susan had gifted Kim and Sydney. “I hope to be able to pass my desire and my gratitude for Marshall to my future children,” Sydney said. “And hopefully, there will be a fourth generation.”

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