When Millersville University sophomore Makenzie Wagner found herself needing help following the sudden loss of her mother, Chester County’s Mary Louise Miller stepped up, writes Logan Perrone for FOX43. 

Wagner lost her mother Krista to pancreatic cancer in April, but her hardships did not stop there. She also lost the financial aid she needed to pay tuition for the upcoming academic year, and the university would not allow her to enroll until a $5,224 balance from the fall semester was paid in full. 

Miller, the mother of Wagner’s friend, stepped in and started a GoFundMe page for the student. 

“This was Tuesday night,” said Miller. “Then the next day, I started getting obsessed and looking at it all through the course of the day and we had reached over $2,000.” 

Within a few days, donations went beyond the amount Wagner needed to enroll in the spring semester. 

“Seeing how happy Mackenzie was, and just the relief on her face, it was very good to see,” said Miller. 

For her, helping Wagner was not just a nice gesture, it was personal. 

“My father died from pancreatic cancer when I was 10,” she said. “I understand the struggle.” 

Read more about Mary Louise Miller at FOX43.