Towards the end of October, the West Virginia Lottery announced that a winning Mega Millions ticket was sold at the Sheetz in Shepherdstown, W.Va. While the purchaser of the ticket worth $1 million continues to remain unknown, many people can’t help but speculate if the winner was a student at Shepherd University.
Though it may not be worth the whole $1 million after taxes, it would still be a whole lot of money for those in need. Since the winning ticket was purchased in town, many students have spent time contemplating what they would do if they won $1 million.
Senior Marisa Bringhurst has three things in mind for what she would do if she won $1 million. “The first thing I would do it pay off my student loans,” Bringhurst said. “The second thing I would do is buy myself a new car, because I really want a new car. As for the third thing, I would use the money to pay for the rest of my schooling, so I don’t have to be in debt when I graduate.”
Junior Wesley Reece has a quick and simple plan for spending his hypothetical lottery winnings. “I would probably pay off my student debt, buy a nice house and a nice car, then invest the rest of it,” Reece said.
Junior Cameron Colwell also has a few specific things he would do with his winnings if he won the lottery. “The first thing I would do with $1 million is buy my mom a new house,” Colwell said. “Then, with the rest of the money I would get, I would buy myself a Porsche Panamera and a Range Rover. Then after I buy those things, I would put the rest into a savings account or invest it.”
Junior Baylee Allanson wants to pay off his student debt and help is family. “The first thing I would do is pay off my student debt and pay for the rest of my schooling here at Shepherd,” Allanson said. “I would also help out my family with it as much as I could.”
Sophomore Brianna Maxwell has a simple plan for how she would spend some of the money on herself. “Honestly, if I won a million dollars, I would make sure I pay off all my bills, house, college, all of that,” Maxwell said. “Then I would buy a small house for me and my dog and my friend, Avery. Then I would set aside enough to where I was comfortable living on.”
As for the rest of the money, Maxwell would contribute it to charity. “The rest of the money I would donate to organizations that I believe in and follow, or use it to sponsor programs to help the LGBT+ community and the minorities in society,” Maxwell said.
While it is nice for students to sit around and think about how we would spend lottery winnings, the unfortunate reality that winning the lottery are over one in 3 million, according to some experts.