The Dan Gavini Memorial Scholarship
Criteria: (Amount Equal to One Full Annual Tuition Award) The Dan Gavini Memorial Scholarship will be awarded to a full-time undergraduate student with need. An essay must accompany the application and should provide evidence of financial need as well as any “life circumstances” that should be taken into consideration by the Scholarship Committee. Though the award is not automatically renewable, a recipient may receive this annual scholarship more than once. A separate application would need to be filed each time.
Danny Gavini is remembered best for his talent, enthusiasm, and kindness. The handsome young man with the incredible blue eyes was a student at Worcester State University when he passed away in 1995 following surgery for a non- malignant brain tumor. His family and friends established scholarships in his memory at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied for two years, and at Worcester State University, where he was pursuing a business degree. These acts of generosity would have been typical of Danny himself.
Danny was a self-taught musician who sang and played guitar, drums, clarinet, and piano. He organized and played in many bands, including Jazz Band, Danny G and Bluenotes, Defy, and Triversity. He was also a co-owner of Studio G Recording in Uxbridge, Mass. In addition to his love of music, Danny was an enthusiastic hockey player. As a youngster he was a member of youth soccer and hockey teams in Holliston, Mass., where he resided his entire life. Later, he enjoyed organizing hockey games with friends on the local pond. Danny loved to play hockey, and he loved getting together with his friends. As one of his friends wrote in the March 29, 1995, WSU Student Voice, “Danny loved his friends. Danny was always the nice, comforting, polite one. I remember that he was always pulling people aside to compliment them about things they had done. He was always such a nice person and a wonderful friend.”
His kind and generous spirit was revealed in other ways, as well. His mother, Kathy Gavini, recalled, “When he was asked to participate in a fundraiser for a neighbor who was undergoing treatment for leukemia, Danny got to know her and made tapes for her to listen to while she was recovering from a bone marrow transplant.” She also recalled her son’s “passionate enthusiasm for whatever he was interested in at the time. Danny was so motivated; he threw himself into anything he did.”
Although Danny’s loss is keenly felt, his family and friends hope that this scholarship will help other Worcester State University students who share Danny’s positive attitude and passion for life. It is a fitting tribute to a remarkable young man who will not be forgotten.