W. Gavin Hegg Scholarship
It was an accident of fate that sent young Gavin Hegg to the University of Illinois instead of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point when his family moved from Stevens Point to Illinois as Gavin was finishing high school at P.J. Jacobs. Erling Hegg met Esther Gavin at Stevens Point Normal in the early 1920's while they were both studying to be teachers. The 1923 Stevens Point Normal Yearbook shows Erling Hegg as a serious young man. The Yearbook line describing him says, "They that think most make the least noise." I imagine Gavin inheriting Erling's quiet gentleness along with his keen mind. Those traits surely helped him in his 31-year career at Sacramento Savings Bank in California where as chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer the bank grew from 60 employees and $60 million in assets to over 900 employees and $3.6 billion in assets.
Along with that growth came a serious commitment to charitable giving and being part of the community. The same 1923 Stevens Point Normal Yearbook pictures a beautiful Esther Gavin who in eight years would become Gavin Hegg's mother. Esther Gavin's Yearbook quotation reads: "There is nothing like a woman's grace and beauty to wake mankind to a sense of duty." Perhaps this was one of Esther Gavin Hegg's gifts to her children, a gift that propelled her son to immerse himself in charitable work, to make a difference wherever possible. In 1994, he was named Sacramento Humanitarian of the Year.
Leslie McClain-Ruelle, School of Education Chair/Henry St. Maurice, Awards Committee Chair/W. Gavin Hegg
When Esther Gavin Hegg moved to heaven in 1986, the Hegg scholarships in the School of Education began. To honor her memory, Erling and son Gavin set up the scholarships. And now that his father has passed on, Gavin honors his parents' memory, with scholarships that make difference in the lives of those who received them and all the children they will eventually teach. He comes all the way from California to sit with the scholarship committee as they interview students, offering advice and encouragement even to applicants who are not chosen. He corresponds with the award winners over the years, somehow remembering details of their lives, even though there are now nearly 20 of them. He agreed to serve on the UWSP Foundation Board to share his extensive philanthropic experience with our staff. His suggestion to move the January board meeting from the UC to his patio was very well received. His visits here have been inspirational for students and staff alike.