Students organize 'Be Great Today' 5K in memory of student

On Oct. 1, the city of Greencastle and DePauw University will host The Marshall Mathew "Be Great Today" 5K Race at 8 a.m., a race for suicide prevention. This race follows the suicide of Marshall Mathew, 19, on May 15, 2011, a first-year student at DePauw University. It will be run on Family Weekend, and is founded and planned by junior Jimmy Kirkpatrick and sophomore Stephanie Sharlow.

Mathew from Paradise Valley, Ariz., was a selfless individual respected by faculty members and students alike. He was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity and Management Fellows Program of Distinction.

Mathew was positive and uplifting to others -- often, he would text the phrase "be great today" to several people every morning to inspire greatness for the day. It became his signature phrase. His tragic death left students of DePauw devastated.

A few weeks later, Kirkpatrick came up with the idea of creating a 5K for suicide prevention.

The proceeds of the run will create a fund at the university, which will allow members of the DePauw community to receive specialty training in counseling depressed and suicidal individuals so they can offer better care to students and Greencastle residents.

Visit begreattoday5k.com for more information.