Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch Macos Serrat and wife Maria Serrat try their luck at the craps table as Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine holds a Casino Night on Friday, Dec. 19, 2014, in the Don Morris Room of the Memorial Student Center in Huntington.

Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch Joe DeLapa and Destiny Day set down for a game of Black Jack as Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine holds a Casino Night on Friday, Dec. 19, 2014, in the Don Morris Room of the Memorial Student Center in Huntington.

Sholten Singer/The Herald-Dispatch Marshall University's Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine holds a Casino Night on Friday, Dec. 19, 2014, in the Don Morris Room of the Memorial Student Center in Huntington.

Dec. 20, 2014 @ 12:01 AM

HUNTINGTON Going to medical school can be very expensive, with some students graduating hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

"They say the average medical student graduates with somewhere up to $200,000 worth of debt," said Steven Nakano, a fourth-year student in the Marshall University School of Medicine. "There are kids who have $500,000 worth of debt and it's just outrageous."

That's why Nakano and others in the Class of 2015 following the lead of classes before them are working to raise money for a scholarship that will help ease the burden for future students.

On Friday, the medical school hosted its inaugural Casino Night in the Don Morris Room at the Memorial Student Center in hopes of banking $15,000 for an endowed scholarship.

"For a school to be able to help offset some of that debt I mean, one Casino Night isn't going to erase everyone's but the fact that the school is committed to at least help students start thinking about how to pay it off, it's very important," said Nakano, who acted as a blackjack dealer for the night, which saw the Don Morris Room transformed into a Vegas-style casino where guests could take part in table gaming with "MUSOM Money" for a chance to win several prizes donated to the event.

Shayne Gue, chair of the Class of 2015's fundraising committee, said it's important for graduating students to give back to incoming students considering all the help they themselves have received along the way.

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