Volume 25 · Number 1 · Fall 2007
From left: Eren Kavvas ‘11, Kimberly Yeargain ‘09 and Jake Fuller ‘11. (Photo: Karin Higgins/UC Davis)
Alumni
Creating Leaders Since 1934
The oldest UC scholarship program of its kind recognizes and rewards exceptional students. Meet three.
Little known fact: Each year, the Cal Aggie Alumni Association awards dozens of scholarships to incoming UC Davis freshman and transfer students. What’s even less well-known is that CAAA began its scholarship program way back in 1934, making it the oldest of its kind in the entire UC system.
But that’s not the only thing that sets the CAAA scholarship program apart from many others: It’s based on leadership.
“Although our scholarship winners may exhibit many traits that qualify them for merit scholarships, it’s their exceptional leadership qualities that earn them CAAA scholarships,” says CAAA Executive Director Charlie Roddy.
For the coming year, CAAA awarded a total of $53,500 in scholarships to 46 students. Here are snapshots of three.
KIMBERLY YEARGAIN ’09
When Kimberly Yeargain’s son, Joshua, was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder at the age of 3, he couldn’t speak, and doctors said he probably wouldn’t develop language skills. She was told that, in all likelihood, he would one day end up institutionalized.
Yet Joshua, 11, now attends Robert E. Willett Elementary School in Davis and reads at a beginning third-grade level. How did he beat the odds? Yeargain, a single mom, refused to accept his prognosis, researched the law and advocated tirelessly for his educational rights. She knew exactly what services Joshua was entitled to and, by presenting her case in an organized manner, was able to secure funding for Joshua’s special educational needs. Her efforts made it possible for Joshua to qualify for a special at-home program that provided self-help skills, a pre-academic foundation and extensive speech and occupational therapy. Now Joshua is able to succeed in a traditional academic setting.
Without Yeargain’s efforts, Joshua might not have beaten his prognosis. This fall she will bring that initiative to UC Davis as a transfer student and pursue a degree in psychology.
JAKE FULLER ’11
The freshman year of high school is difficult enough without having to deal with the death of a loved one. Now imagine losing four close friends in alcohol-related car accidents within the span of a few months. This was the reality of Jake Fuller’s freshman year.
But Fuller didn’t shy away from the tragedies: He started a youth group, 3D, or Don’t Drop Dead, and began to raise money to fund drunken-driving awareness campaigns.
Within a month of forming 3D, Fuller and a supportive team of friends raised enough money to pay for bumper stickers, T-shirts and large banners, which they hung at his school, West Valley High, and throughout his community of Cottonwood in Shasta County. Eventually, 3D created a variety of other promotional items, such as custom footballs, pens, temporary tattoos and book covers featuring catchy slogans. The items and some smart marketing made sober driving cool to community members and students alike.
Over the course of four years, Fuller raised over $45,000, partially through a grant from the state public health department. One of Fuller’s slogans, “Arrive Alive,” was even borrowed by the California Department of Transportation, which displays the saying on its highway traffic information signs.
Fuller isn’t certain yet of his career path, but he begins his studies at UC Davis this fall.
EREN KAVVAS ’11
What did you do on your summer vacation last year? Eren Kavvas, of Davis, borrowed $420 from her parents and founded a language school for children in Turkey.
“Honestly, it was a little spontaneous,” says Kavvas, who is a dual citizen of the United States and Turkey, and whose family still has strong connections in the Eurasian country. She had traveled to Turkey with them frequently for vacations, but she felt she could better use the time that she spent there. “I should be going there and trying to change the country for the better,” she adds.
Kavvas moved to Turkey in the summer of 2006 and held classes each day in a vacant house in the rural town of Seferihisar. There she taught English to poor children who spent most days selling trinkets to tourists. Kavvas hoped that the children could learn to communicate better with those tourists and thus earn more money. And she not only taught them but fed them each day as well.
For her work, Kavvas, a longtime Girl Scout, won the organization’s highest honor, the Gold Award. She begins economics studies at UC Davis this fall and hopes to one day continue her international work with the United Nations refugee agency.
Neil Freese ’02 is CAAA’s communications officer.