Vivian Guerrier in 2007 (photo credit Nell Campbell)
Generous donors to UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School Inell and Henry Chase are leading the way on UCSB Give Day 2022 with a $30,000 challenge gift to the Vivian Guerrier “Hope” Fellowship.
As parents to a Gevirtz School graduate, the Chases know first-hand the importance of training the very best. While a student with the Teacher Education Program, their daughter received a letter from a second-grade parent that made a lasting impact on the entire family. It read, in part: “You have taught our daughter life skills we could never have given her. The way you give to your students unconditionally is a blessing. Our daughter has a brighter future because you entered her life. Thank you for picking teaching as your profession.”
Awards like the Guerrier “Hope” Fellowship help student scholars focus on their work by removing financial barriers to their research, teaching, and community service.
This endowed scholarship in particular 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 despite 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.
The “Hope” Fellowship is awarded to a Teacher Education Program credential student who demonstrates the sense of personal courage and hope that Vivian Guerrier embodied as a stalwart member of the Gevirtz School community.
UCSB Give Day is a 36-hour digital fundraising event on April 7, 2022. The goal of UCSB Give Day is to bring our community together to celebrate the journey of UC Santa Barbara. UCSB Give Day 2022 will rally support for the university and unite Gauchos far and near, preserving everything UC Santa Barbara is known for: campus beauty, academic excellence, and high-impact research.