Nearly 10 years after her daughter, Elizabeth, passed away, Michelle Lones established an endowed scholarship with the Pitt Community College Foundation to ensure her daughter’s memory—and her legacy of giving—endure.
Elizabeth, a Belvoir resident and 2010 graduate of North Pitt High School, was living in Raleigh and working as an administrative assistant for Triangle Skydiving School at the time of her passing at age 24. Just a month earlier, she’d donned a royal blue cap and gown and joined her fellow PCC Class of 2016 graduates at commencement.
After looking at a photo of her daughter grinning ear-to-ear while holding her PCC associate degree moments after receiving it from former President G. Dennis Massey, Michelle says Elizabeth was her life’s greatest achievement.
“That day at PCC was the proudest moment of my life,” she said. “It was the proudest moment of my life, because it was the proudest moment of her life.”
Though higher education wasn’t a family emphasis for Michelle growing up, she made sure her only child understood its value and purpose.
“Elizabeth was the first person in my entire family to graduate from college,” she said. “I was a single parent and stressed her whole life how important an education was. Elizabeth stressed to other people how important an education was.”
Michelle said Elizabeth didn’t just believe in helping others—she lived it. “My daughter was the most giving person,” she said with a laugh. “She would give you the shirt off her back—and mine too.”
Elizabeth’s generosity extended beyond friends and family. Michelle recalled how she assisted a coworker who had recently fled an abusive situation and moved to the area with two young children. Elizabeth quietly brought the woman Thanksgiving dinner and a Christmas tree, ensuring she and her family felt welcome and cared for during the holidays.
Inspired by her daughter’s selflessness, Michelle established the Elizabeth Lones Memorial Endowed Scholarship with an initial $5,500 contribution to the PCC Foundation in December 2025. Though she works full-time as a real estate agent, Michelle and her husband of two years, Bill, also launched an eBay store, “PickingforPurpose,” in August to raise funds for the scholarship. She said 100% of the profits from the online sales will support the award.
“My hope is that I can get this thing funded and PCC hands a check to someone and their life is made better by this – a blessing to someone who didn’t get grants, who doesn’t have people to support them,” Michelle said. “And then the recipients become my people. And then they tell Elizabeth’s story, and in turn someone else tells her story.”
PCC Scholarships Coordinator Kim Simpkins said the Lones Scholarship would be awarded annually to a full- or part-time student who has demonstrated commitment to completing a trade program at Pitt. She said preference would be given to students who don’t qualify for federal or state financial aid.
“When you don’t have much help, life is hard,” Michelle Lones said. “People can say you just have to try harder, but to people who won’t get financial assistance, who didn’t come from money, who don’t have a good support system, this ‘hand up’ could be the difference for them to achieve greatness.”
Though the scholarship hasn’t yet reached endowment level, Simpkins said Lones has provided funds for the college to present an award during the 2026 Spring Semester. She said the Foundation is currently working to identify a recipient.
For Michelle, the scholarship is more than just financial support—it’s a way to keep her daughter’s story alive. “One day I won’t be here to tell her story,” she said. “I wanted her name to live on helping people.”