(l-r): The 2017 “Hope” Fellows Brenda Bilton and Kyle Rehder with Vivian Guerrier’s son Ken Guerrier, his wife Heidi, and Vivian’s namesake granddaughter (not pictured: Alison Gomon)
Brenda Bilton, Alison Gomon and Kyle Rehder of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School were named the recipients of the 2017 Guerrier “Hope” Fellowships. The “Hope” Fellowships are awarded to Teacher Education Program credential students who demonstrate the sense of personal courage and hope that Vivian Guerrier embodied as a stalwart member of the Gevirtz School community. Bilton and Rehder are Education Specialist Credential candidates and Gomon is a Single Subject (English) Teaching Credential candidate in the Gevirtz School’s Teacher Education Program.
This endowed scholarship honors longtime Gevirtz School staff member Vivian Guerrier, who died in August 2007 after more than a decade of service to the GGSE and Credential students. Faced with great personal challenges, Guerrier dedicated her life in the GGSE to serving students and exemplified how one person can make a difference in the lives of others. In the ordinary circumstances of her daily work she provided a gracious and welcoming environment for students and was an inspiration for everyone. Through the “Hope” Scholarship the School recognizes and encourages students who, like Guerrier, persevere in spite of hardships to accomplish their vision to become educators, and who inspire others with their courage and integrity. Guerrier is remembered as a model of hope to all who knew her. In 2004 she was recognized for her achievements and was awarded the “Unsung Heroine Award” sponsored by the UCSB Professional Women’s Association.