MARIETTA— Washington State College of Ohio’s former President Dr. Carson Miller and his wife Barbara Miller recently endowed a scholarship with the WSCO Foundation in memory of their late grandson Carson “Tom” Thomas Miller.
The Millers lost their grandson tragically to suicide in 2015. Tom was an 18-year-old just entering his senior year in high school when he took his life. “He was an all-around good American kid who showed no indication that something was wrong or that there was depression,” shared Dr. Miller.
The family established the scholarship to help others who have been affected by suicide. “The collateral damage that a suicide causes is beyond belief. It rippled through a family. It changed our family forever,” Miller acknowledged. “We hope someone can receive the scholarship that has lost a friend or family member to suicide,” Miller added.
Last year in the United States, suicide was responsible for 1.7 million attempts and nearly 50,000 deaths, which is about one death every 11 minutes. With the gift, the Miller family wants to draw attention to this serious public health issue.
The Carson Thomas Miller Memorial Scholarship will be awarded for the first time in the spring. For more information about this and other scholarships available through the WSCO Foundation and the college, visit wscc.edu/scholarships.
The Washington State College of Ohio Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable corporation administered by a Board of Directors composed of community leaders and institutional representatives. Gifts made to the Foundation are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and are used exclusively to support the College’s mission, its programs, and its students. To learn more about how you can establish a scholarship at WSCO, contact the WSCO Foundation Director Megan Marion at 740-885-5706 or Foundation@wscc.edu.
