2009 Undergraduate Scholarship Dinner
Governor and First Gentleman help honor scholarship recipients and the donors who support them
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| From left to right: Joshua Rudisill, Dr. Robert W. Eaves Scholar; N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue; Holly Travis, Dr. Robert W. Eaves Scholar; and Bob Eaves, N.C. First Gentleman. |
Held April 14, 2009, at the Carolina Inn, the 2009 Undergraduate Scholarship Dinner brought together UNC scholarship recipients and the donors who made their financial support possible.
The event featured speakers Bob Eaves, husband of N.C. Gov. Beverly Perdue (who attended), and Joshua Rudisill, a Class of 2009 student who received a need-based scholarship that the Eaves family established to honor Bob's father. Bernadette Gray-Little, executive vice chancellor and provost, served as emcee.
Below, learn more about Bob and Joshua and read their remarks.
Bob Eaves
Bob Eaves, North Carolina's first First Gentleman, was born and reared in Washington, D.C. Bob's father was a native of Rutherford County, N.C., and Bob followed in his footsteps by attending UNC, where he graduated with a B.S. in business administration and majored in accounting. After serving two years as a supply officer in the U.S. Navy, he moved to Atlanta to work for Arthur Andersen & Co. and became a Certified Public Accountant.
Bob joined Globe Oil Company in 1963 and was instrumental in its growth from three county gas stations to 110 large convenience stores operated under the "Starvin' Marvin" trademark. At Globe Oil, he became chief operating officer with primary responsibilities in finance, operations and marketing. Bob and his partners sold Globe Oil in 1985.
Presently, he is majority owner of the Right Stuff Food Stores, a convenience store company. The stores are located in Georgia and operated by his son.
Bob serves on several civic boards that reflect his interests. They include the Public School Forum of North Carolina, the James B. Hunt Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, and the North Carolina Humanities Council. At UNC, Bob has served on boards for the North Carolina Botanical Garden and the Carolina Performing Arts Society. He also led efforts to create an on-campus memorial honoring alumni who have died in war.
In addition to joining his family to honor his father with the Dr. Robert W. Eaves Scholarship, Bob has established a distinguished professorship in the UNC School of Education.
Bob's remarks
Thank you Provost Gray-Little for the opportunity to make a few remarks to both those who most generously have made scholarships available and the worthy recipients, many of whom are here tonight.
Carolina has been a big part of my life since I first visited Chapel Hill when I was 10 years old. Following in my father’s footsteps, I graduated from here and all four of our children did also.
Education is central to my life. My dad was a teacher and principal, and my wife – some of you may have heard of her – is a former teacher herself. I know all the hard work that comes with being a teacher and educator, and I am happy to be here to honor those UNC education students who have proven that they were born to teach. These students do not shirk from responsibility but face it head on in order to forge their individual paths to success. And as teachers, they will be the ones we rely on to educate the workforce of tomorrow and create a bright future for North Carolina.
We are also here to honor those men and women who have created scholarships to help students who might need some extra help paying their way through school. The love my family has had for this university and the teaching profession made it an easy decision to create the Robert W. Eaves Scholarship honoring my father in 1981.
This need-based scholarship has helped more than 50 students make their way through UNC’s School of Education. The Eaves scholarship is a reflection of my dad – my hero – and his passion for teaching.
My dad grew up on a farm in Rutherford County in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His perseverance has always been an inspiration to me. Many times he could have given up and spent the rest of his life in Rutherford County.
Until he was 17 and finally graduated eighth grade, his only opportunity for education was in a one-room school, open about four months a year because of farm schedules, flu epidemics and other difficulties. Over the next 22 months he walked, rode a mule or his bicycle five miles to high school. I think in those days you graduated after completing the 11th grade.
My dad did not have enough money to pay for college. He worked his way through UNC by teaching and other jobs until he earned his degree in education.
From a teaching principal out of college to principalship at several schools in the Washington, D.C., area, he became executive secretary of the NEA’s Department of Elementary School Principals. His career in education spanned 44 years.
And he didn’t stop being a teacher once he left the classroom. He taught me again and again that to reach my dreams I had to work hard and believe in myself. There wasn’t anything I couldn’t accomplish if I set my mind to it and made a solid effort. And I am here to honor three recipients who will continue teaching my father’s lesson – if you work hard and stay focused on your goals, you will reach success.
Despite all of his professional achievements, I know my dad always believed that his greatest success was helping young people. When my mother created this scholarship, she wanted the memory of my father to live on through those education students who, just like him, were passionate about education and instilling that same passion in students.
This year’s three recipients represent men and women whom my dad would have loved to see flourish at UNC. I’d like to congratulate Joshua Rudisill, Jennifer Knox and Holly Travis. These students exhibit the leadership qualities that will hold a classroom’s attention and make kids excited about learning. And they understand that it takes hard work to reach their goals – they have learned the same lesson that my dad taught me.
It was important to my family that the best students in North Carolina have the opportunity to come to UNC, no matter their financial situation. I am so pleased that my dad’s legacy lives on through these UNC scholarship recipients. I would like to thank and applaud each of the Eaves Scholarship recipients for being outstanding students, citizens and future teachers and for believing in themselves, and congratulate the many other scholarship recipients who are being honored tonight. You represent the best of the best.
I would like to close by quoting something my dad said in 1955:
A zeal for service is the first requirement of professionalization. Without a zeal for service, our efforts as educators are void and hopeless. We cannot expect remuneration commensurate with our achievements. Our remuneration comes largely from the joy of seeing people grow strong, useful and intelligent. This is the best life has to offer. No greater life can anyone live.
Thank you – and enjoy your time at UNC.
Joshua Rudisill
Joshua Rudisill is from Bethlehem, N.C., in the western part of the state. He earned an associate's degree at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory and then – after working a couple of years – enrolled at Carolina as a junior, with financial help from a Dr. Robert W. Eaves Scholarship.
At UNC, Joshua has gained a wealth of knowledge while completing his degree in education. He plans to teach middle school in North Carolina and is majoring in science education and minoring in social studies education.
He is the president of UNC's chapter of the Collegiate Middle School Leaders Association. Joshua did his junior-year placements at schools in Efland and Durham. Now, he is student teaching at Phillips Middle School in Chapel Hill.
Joshua's remarks
Thank you for that wonderful introduction.
On behalf of each of the recipients I would like to say that it is an honor to meet those who have invested in our lives and our futures. I trust that you hear my sincerity when I say “Thank You”. For me, it is truly inspiring to know that you have invested in me without ever having a face-to-face meeting. This optimism and trust must be contagious because as I tackle each day in my seventh-grade classroom, I do so with the trust that if I invest 100 percent in the future of each of my students, I will certainly reap the benefits later in life. When I was asked to speak to you tonight I thought "no problem." I’ve had plenty of experience with several of my previous jobs. And besides, I’m comfortable with public speaking because I do it every day to five classes of 13 year olds. So don’t be surprised if I pause to remind some of you to keep your hands to yourself or to remove your head from under the table.
But after thinking about what I might say, I realized that I was going to be speaking to a room full of people who believe in the potential of others. Each of the donors must know the wisdom of Eleanor Roosevelt and agree with her statement that “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” It is awesome to know that these donors not only believe in the beauty of my dreams, but also in the beauty of the dreams of every student at UNC. Each scholarship was given with the trust that the students are going to fulfill their dreams and give something back to society.
When starting at UNC I knew that I was not a traditional student. It took me several years to realize exactly what I wanted to do with my life after high school. My path has been a little different than most. I tried my hand at many different careers as I completed a two-year degree in the North Carolina Community College System. Luckily, along the way, I found myself volunteering at the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club. This opportunity later turned into a job as the director of education. While working the children there, I found that a positive, consistent approach was necessary to gain the trust of those students. At first the students were a bit leery of me. The demographics of the area were such that I found myself in the minority and the students and I had no idea what to expect from each other. There were a few days when I thought I’d never go back, but after the children began to trust me, we always had a blast. Each and every child there had so much potential but was burdened with the fact that they came from homes with extremely low incomes. Building relationships was easy to do with these students. Investing in their futures was tantamount.
This experience was the first of several that lead me towards my career choice as an educator. I never imagined that choosing UNC as a means to my goal was going to be so rewarding. When I began my first semester at UNC, I trusted that my program was going to provide me with the necessary tools for my career. I had trust in my peers, my teachers and my TAs. Each time I signed the honor pledge I knew that the institution had trust in me. What I did not know was that this trust would build bonds and create lasting friendships between myself, my advisors and my professors. I did not know that my professors would lead me on a path towards equity and excellence and support me along the way. All of the professors in the School of Education hold high standards, but when I think of excellence, Dr. Suzanne Gulledge comes to mind. I never knew that someone could guide me to so many epiphanies at 8 o’clock in the morning! Hopefully I’ll be a fraction as effective in shaping the minds of my students as Dr. Gulledge has been in shaping mine.
As I entered my first day of student teaching in a large middle school, I admittedly was a bit nervous. I should have held on to the trust, though, that everything would be okay because I was paired with the most positive and basically perfect cooperating teacher that I could ever have imagined. As a mentor, he trusted me with all 113 of his students. While exploring science in my classroom I’ve built relationships with my students. The experience has shown me that teaching is both a science and an art. As the semester ends and I begin looking back at my internship, I realize how strong my mentor’s trust must have been; because after my student teaching experience and all of the trust that has built, I’m a little reluctant of returning the reigns back over to him ... he’d laugh if he knew I said that!
But when I think about the future of our society, I know that investing in our youth is of the utmost importance. And so do our scholarship donors. As they each have placed their trust upon the recipients, I also do the same. For each of the scholarships delivered, the world will feel the benefits threefold.
So I leave you tonight with a quote that has brought me along the way. “Trust that little voice in your head that says “wouldn’t it be interesting if ...” and DO IT.
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