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“This is great. How am I going to pay for it?” thought Kayla Combs when she opened her NKU acceptance letter.

Combs, a first-generation college student from Beattyville, Kentucky, watched her single mother struggle to support their family on minimum wage jobs all her life. She knew college would open the door to a better future; she also knew her mother couldn’t help her pay for it.

The Combs family isn’t alone in this struggle. Among Beattyville’s 1,193 residents, more than 40 percent live below the poverty line. Based on 2010 census data, Beattyville is third in the country for lowest median household income—about $21,000 annually for a family—among towns with more than 1,000 people.

Combs knew she had to find a way to pay for school and applied for all the scholarships she could find. A hard-working high schooler involved in numerous extracurriculars, Combs was awarded multiple scholarships, including the Boehne Family First-Generation Scholarship, a scholarship launched by Rich (’81) and Lisa Boehne (’81), both NKU alumni who were also first-generation college students. For Combs, the scholarship was a game changer.

“I am so thankful to Rich and Lisa for their generosity. Just knowing there are people out there who believe in me and want me to succeed means the world, and I cannot thank them enough,” says Combs. The marketing major is making the most of her college experience, polishing leadership skills in the Norse Leadership Society and gaining real-world professional experience through the Marketing Club. Combs also works part time as a student office assistant in the Haile/US Bank College of Business Advising Center.

Combs is excited about the opportunities she’s had to learn more about herself while at NKU. “In my first marketing class, I discovered I had a passion for designing and being creative,” she says. The realization led Combs to an account services internship at Powers Agency in Cincinnati, and she plans to pursue a career in advertising here in the region after completing her degree.

Thanks to the scholarships she’s earned, Combs is on track to graduate from NKU with no student debt, ensuring she can choose wisely for herself and her career after graduation. “It’s life changing,” she says. “Because of donor support, students are able to get an education and a career they want. Donors are setting students up for a great life.”