By the time Jennifer Avenel discovered her passion for training and education, she had already earned a degree and was working full time in an unrelated field. Given her schedule and current financial obligations, returning to school did not seem possible.

For more than 40 years, Debbie McCravy has been a part of the MUSC family: as an employee, patient, friend, and so much more. She describes the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) as “the place where I was meant to end up.”

Sunday Tuk’s family connection to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) runs deep.

In 2012, Bob Richards came to MUSC with polycystic kidney disease and in need of a kidney transplant. Several candidates came and went but it wasn’t until his niece, Roseann Hines, came to MUSC that his search came to an end and he had found his match.

Brought up by Greek immigrants, Vasiliki Moskos, M.D., looks to her parents’ success as she reflects on her own. “They worked very hard,” she said. “They came here and started a business and survived.”

At 18 years old, Heidar Modaresi left behind all he knew in Shiraz, Iran, to pursue the American Dream as a student at the University of California at Berkeley. That dream turned into a nightmare when he suddenly found himself fighting for his life after a horrific motorcycle accident.

As a child, Matt Prisby watched his father support the vendors selling apples and pencils on the sidewalk, despite their family’s own financial circumstances. As he grew older, he began to think about his father’s example and how he could give back with his own money.

“After what I had just seen and ex­perienced, I knew I had to become a nurse”, said Mary Neff, BSN ‘97, as she thought back to the very moment she knew she had found her calling.

Tom and Ginny D’Antonio are a thoughtful couple who enjoy traveling and spending time with family. After retiring to Pawleys Island, the D’Antonios started looking for a hospital that would care for them as they settled into this chapter of their lives. It was an easy decision to make after just one visit to MUSC in 1999.

Before they made the decision to retire early, Russ and Venetia Vaughn made a commitment to use their time and resources to create a lasting impact on the community. They also had a strong desire to honor their parents. The Vaughns were able to accomplish both goals by making multiple planned gifts in support of programs at MUSC.

During our nearly 65 years of marriage, I have observed my wife suffering from various degrees of discomfort and serious breathing problems.

Dr. Anne Osborne Kilpatrick believes that the work we do during our time here on earth helps to create a beautiful piece of art. Although we may not be able to see the finished product immediately, we will be able to look back on the lives that we touched and see the beauty that has been born over time.

We made a gift to MUSC not despite our loss, but because of it. Our daughter, Helen, passed away in November of 2015. In our grief, my husband, David, and I were comforted by the knowledge that everything that could have been done for Helen was done at MUSC.

As a new graduate of the College of Charleston volunteering at the MUSC Children's Hospital, Cristina Reyes Smith met a little girl in a shoulder cast who had no interest in the cheerful volunteer but only wanted to see her OT.

His skill in patient care became legendary the day a 1-year-old girl in clinic screamed and screamed, unyielding to anyone's efforts to soothe her.

Lucinda Magwood believes that when you think about retirement, you have to look at how meaningful your life was during that time and you have to have truly enjoyed the work you were doing.

Frank Talbot took his battle against pancreatic cancer through clinical trials and cutting-edge treatments, and his family wants to continue his fight through research.

It's difficult to pick a place to begin when describing Dr. Franklin G. Mason. He's practiced dentistry for more than 64 years.

Born into a family in rural Richland County, Dr. Isaiah “Ike” Davis was surrounded by hard workers. "My mother and father loved school, and although they had some education, schools were not available to them," Davis said.

Haley Sulka and Natalie Hahn, MUSC planned giving officers, recently sat down with Jon van Heerden, M.D. to learn a little more about him and why he supports MUSC.

Jade is a small-town girl from Union, South Carolina, and Jacob is from Manhattan. Seemingly very different, they have something in common: they both received scholarships toward their education.

Sumter residents Lynn and Connie Wallace recently chose to invest in the future of dental education in South Carolina by making a gift in the form of a deferred charitable gift annuity to the James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine building fund.

We sat in an exam room at Hollings Cancer Center, no one sure what to say. I was only 19, diagnosed with ovarian cancer during the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college.

Cami, Rob and Rodny. They share the same genes, the same birthday month and now, the same legacy.

Vinny Martucci and Arlene Petty have traveled around the world – seven continents and 48 states, to be exact – experiencing the wonder, discoveries, and challenges touring the world offers. Of all their travels, perhaps their longest, most challenging – and most rewarding – was Vinny’s journey through kidney transplantation.

Vincent Peng understands the meaning of heart and determination, two things he carried with him, along with the $15.00 in his pocket when he first came to America from Taiwan in 1960. He knew no one in the United States, but knew he was destined to succeed.

In 2011, Norm and Andrea Argast made the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center a beneficiary of their estate. In the following essay, the Argasts share their cancer journey and what inspired their gift.

A scholarship for College of Pharmacy students is getting a boost from a longtime supporter. Todd Platt, who donates to the college annually, has increased his impact by making a bequest to the college in memory of his mother, Barbara Gaskins Platt.