Student’s Touching Story Underscores Value Of Giving

More than 165 students attended the Hugh L. Vaughan Scholarship Luncheon on Nov. 6, each of whom followed a unique path that led them to Old Dominion. The luncheon, an annual event sponsored by the ODU Educational Foundation, brings together scholarship recipients and donors – where the students can give thanks in person to those who have helped support their pursuit of higher education, and where donors can see the manifestation of their gifts.

The story of the path traveled by guest speaker Germaine Gauvin, a fifth-year senior and recipient of The Virginian-Pilot Scholarship, was as poignant as it was unique. Gauvin, who was suffering from pneumonia, nevertheless seized the opportunity to address the audience, “as a voice of gratitude for myself and all students who have received funds from thoughtful and generous donors.”

Her voice breaking occasionally, Gauvin was at times emotional as she shared her bittersweet story, one that began growing up in a family of 10 children in a small Kansas town.

She endured poverty and, at age 11, experienced her parents’ breakup. In the years that followed, Gauvin said, she suffered abuse from her father, a situation that ultimately was resolved by police intervention. She and the older teenage girls were sent to separate foster and group homes.

What once seemed like a hopeless situation, however, later ended on a happy note when Germaine and Carmelitta, her best friend and one of her eight sisters, were reunited with their mother in Suffolk. Germaine, though, still wondered if she would be destined to a life of poverty. After consulting with a high school counselor, she found that, based on her grades, she could afford a college education with the help of a scholarship, government grants and student loans.

Carmelitta, a psychology major, transferred last fall from Tidewater Community College to ODU, where both sisters are now pursuing their dreams. For Germaine, who has a double major in sociology and criminal justice, it is to attend law school. “I would really like to work with kids who have come from situations such as mine,” she said.

While at ODU, Germaine has interned with the Chesapeake Police Department and done volunteer work in the community with different organizations, including Equi-kids, a nonprofit therapeutic horseback riding program for the disabled and handicapped.

To hear Gauvin’s talk, go to www.odu.edu/ao/development