In 2009, an anonymous donor gave UNCG $6 million — the biggest gift the university has ever received. And with that, a much hoped-for dream became a reality. Now UNCG can offer students from families at or below the poverty level a chance to graduate with little or no debt. For the first 35 UNCG Guarantee scholars, every day on campus is a gift.

Perfect timing

Sydney Aiken

For Sydney Aiken, 18, the timing was just right.

The only child of a single mom, she knew she wanted to go to college. UNCG, UNC Charlotte and NC State were all in the running. The final decider would be her financial aid packages. The prospect of how to pay for school was always in the back of her mind, she says. “What school was going to give me the best offer? Would I be able to graduate with as little debt as possible?” she asked herself.

The day before the May 1 deadline to notify the school of her choice, her decision was still pending. Until an email popped up in her inbox. She'd been accepted into the UNCG Guarantee program.

“As soon as I got the email — as soon as I got it — I pressed ‘Yes, I will confirm my acceptance to UNCG,’” she says.

For the pre-nursing major, UNCG is a great fit. She's from Reidsville, a small town just a 30-minute drive north of Greensboro. Far enough for some independence, but still close to the mom who has always been there for her. “I'm glad I'll be here where she can come to Greensboro and hang out,” Sydney says.

But the best fit was the promise of college with little or no debt. “It means so much to my mom, for me to be able to go to school and not have to worry about money,” she says. “Money has always been an issue throughout our lives, with my mom working to pay the bills. The stress of it has been on our shoulders since I was young. For me to be able to go to college and not have to worry about that — where I can focus on something else other than finances — is a huge relief.”

Wrestled into place

James Payne (left)

James Payne didn't want to get his hopes too high. There were a lot of things that had to fall into place to make his dream scenario come true.

After investing five years in wrestling — largely teaching himself the techniques that would make him a success in his heavyweight classification — he hoped to wrestle at the collegiate level. He'd even had some interest from Northern schools.

But he also didn't want to go too far away from his family in Asheville. Then there was the issue of paying for college.

“I have two siblings,” James, 18, explains. “If we're going to send them to college, we couldn't spend the barn on me because they need to go as well.”

UNCG wrestling didn't recruit James. It was the Guarantee program that lured him to Greensboro. “I was astounded that they would offer something so amazing. A full scholarship,” he says, a touch of wonder still lingering in his voice. “It was a jaw dropper to be honest. When I applied, I just put my heart and soul into those pages.”

More than 120 students applied for the program. Only 35 made the cut. James was one of them.

“I was stunned. In my eyes, that's like winning the lottery,” he says.

“I'm so very thankful for that Guarantee. I don't know if my parents would have been able to pay for it to be honest. I'd probably have to take out loans, and I'd be paying loans until I was 40.”

Now the self-proclaimed “mountain boy” can focus on his studies without worrying about how to pay for them. He plans to major in kinesiology, a field that resonates with him as an athlete.

“To help that athlete get back out there, I think that'd be the greatest job,” he says. “I'd love to help other people get back on their feet. If I could help just one person walk again, that'd be enough for me.”

He'll be back on the mat this winter, this time in a blue and gold singlet, after earning a spot on the UNCG wrestling team.

“Everything just fell in place,” Payne says. “I'm not going to lie, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”

Dramatic entrance

Robyn McLaughlin

With her love of all things theater, you'll have to forgive Robyn McLaughlin if her reaction to learning of her status as a UNCG Guarantee scholar was a bit dramatic.

“I was at graduation practice,” she remembers. “My grandmother and my mother had to call me while I was outside waiting to practice crossing the stage. They were like ‘Robyn, you need to call us back right now.’ (When they told me I got the Guarantee) I didn't know what to do — I was like, ‘Are you serious?!’ I told everyone around me ‘I got a full ride, I got a full ride!’”

The Guarantee will do more than just open doors for Robyn. The 18-year-old theatre education major plans to share her love of the arts with the next generation. It's a move that she hopes will provide her with security. “Teaching is more stable than being an actor. Actors live paycheck to paycheck.”

“Theatre has been a major part of my life,” she says. “I like to introduce new things to students, to express emotions they may not have had before.”

Planning for tomorrow

Jason Tomes

For Jason Tomes, an undergraduate degree from UNCG is just the first step. He's already planning for and dreaming of the day when three letters come behind his name: PhD.

“I want to be a clinical psychologist,” Jason, 17, says. He plans to major in psychology, a subject that has always fascinated him. “I want to help people. I want to make a difference in people's lives. Becoming a clinical psychologist is a way to combine two of my interests — psychology and wanting to help people.”

With the Guarantee, that's possible.

He, too, evaluated a number of schools: NC State, UNC Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt.

“My big thing was I didn't want a lot of debt,” Jason says.

“I even looked into an ROTC program. The Guarantee helps me pay for school, and I don't have to give away eight years of my life serving in the military. Not that there's something bad with that. But it does give me flexibility.”

Jason learned about the new UNCG initiative the day the application was due. Motivated, he asked a teacher for permission to complete his application during class. Approval granted, Jason set to work. “If you only have a day, you don't procrastinate.”

With the help of the Guarantee, he plans to be even more prepared for the next phase of his education.

“It gives me time to try to save up money instead of spending it all on school right now,” he says. “To save up for a doctorate.”

Finding family

Breanna Graves, center

Breanna Graves, 18, knew she wanted to attend UNCG. How she was going to pay for it — that was something else.

Enter her mom. She went to the financial aid meeting and found out about the Guarantee, Breanna remembers. “She gave me the papers and said, ‘Look at this and see if you're interested in it.’ I read over it and said, ‘This is exactly what I need.’”

Now a Guarantee scholar, Breanna keeps finding resources to meet her needs, from those who administer the program to her alumni mentor to her fellow scholars.

“All the mentors, they connect with you on so many different levels,” she says. “It's not just a student-teacher relationship. It's a deeper relationship, like you can talk to them about anything.”

When she found herself struggling in biology, she knew of a resource that could help: Special Support Services. She knew the program existed because of the support from the Guarantee office. “The Guarantee staff does everything to see you succeed. I feel like if I were to tell them I did badly on a test, it'd break their hearts. They are like parents to me.”

And the growing camaraderie among the Guarantee scholars means Breanna knows there are people on campus with a story similar to hers.

Now this future nurse is the one spreading the word about the Guarantee program to her friends back in Caswell County. “I've been telling everybody to come to UNCG and try to get into all the programs they can,” she says.

She's even developed her own pitch. “You can quote me,” she says. “If you don't know about Guarantee, you should find out about it. It's the best program at UNCG.”