Student honors professor through new scholarship

Jessica Whitehead, a recent graduate of Georgia College and State University, is creating a scholarship fund in honor of Dr. Gregory Jarvie, a psychology professor at GC&SU.

Whitehead met Jarvie when she was 19 while waiting tables at a local restaurant. Whitehead had dropped out of school and had been living on her own since she was 19. Jarvie was impressed by Whitehead and wanted to help her get an education.

” I had a hunch about Jessica, and after talking to her, I realized my hunch was valid. She was articulate and bright and I thought she needed to go to college. It was a gamble. You give money to someone who you think is going to make it,” Jarvie said.

Jarvie offered to pay for her first year of tuition and books, and there was only one stipulation.

“Just try to make passing grades,” Jarvie said.

Whitehead did far more than make passing grades. She graduated with a degree in psychology in May of this year with an impressive GPA. She was president of Psi Chi, the National Honors Society for Psychology Students. Whitehead also plans to get her master’s degree in the field of psychology.

Whitehead got the idea of creating a scholarship fund on the day of her graduation.

“I wanted to do something for Dr. Jarvie to show my appreciation. I wanted it to be something that would last a long time,” Whitehead said.

Jarvie was flattered when Whitehead told him her plans.

“I felt a mixed reaction of gratitude and a feeling of not wanting to be in the spotlight. It was a pretty impressive gesture,” said Jarvie.

According to Wendy Clark, director of Alumni Relations, establishing a scholarship fund in honor of someone is an enduring gift.

” It’s a great way to honor somebody because it means that their name goes on forever. Even in 100 years, the Dr. Jarvie Scholarship Fund will be given to a student. Also, people can give to these funds forever
because they never go away,” Clark said.

A minimum of $10,000 must be raised in order for a scholarship fund to begin to generate enough interest income. The Alumni Association and Foundation Boards invest the principal $10,000, and the interest earned from the investment goes to a student in the form of a scholarship.
However, the more money over $10,000 a fund has in it, the more money it can generate for students.

“Our bottom line goal is to get more money for students. We encourage people to continue to invest in these funds,” Clark said.

Whitehead has raised $1,600 and has many fundraisers in the works.

“We plan on having fundraisers that will include faculty, students, alumni, and the entire community,” Whitehead said.

Whitehead hopes to raise the money by August 2002.

“We have a long way to go, but we’ll get there,” she said.

Whitehead plans to meet with Jarvie to discuss exactly what type of student will qualify for the fund, but they both agree it should go to people who are good students but may not have the GPA for the Hope Scholarship.

“I would like the money to go to people who, like myself, would not be in college if it weren’t for financial assistance,” Whitehead said.

Outside of assisting Whitehead financially, Jarvie has been an incredible mentor to her as well.

“He has made a great influence on me, and I will treasure our friendship for the rest of my life,” Whitehead said.

If there are any organizations, students, or faculty on campus who would like to participate in a fundraiser or who have fundraising ideas, please call Jessica Whitehead at 478-491-0914. Gifts to the Dr. Jarvie Scholarship Fund can be made payable to the GC&SU Foundation. Please indicate the name of the fund. Gifts can be sent to:

GC&SU Foundation
Campus Box 96
Milledgeville, GA 31061

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Sep 14 2001. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry