Paying It Forward
Thanks to a $50,000 gift, more Guilford students will be able to study abroad.
David ’70 and Tanya ’71 Feagins made the gift to create and endow the Mary and Carroll Feagins Study Abroad Scholarship Fund in memory of David’s parents, both of whom were faculty members at Guilford.
“Mary and Carroll Feagins, Quaker Travelers in Peace,” reads a small plaque on this photograph, taken by German major and yearbook photographer Jillian Haeseler ’75. Given to the College by the Feagins family in 2007, the photo hangs in Duke Memorial Hall.
Mary and Carroll Feagins were heavily involved in Guilford’s study abroad program and established the first program for study abroad in Munich, Germany for Guilford. However, the idea for this scholarship goes back even further.
“The original idea started back in the mid-’30s,” said David. “My mom was attending Goucher College, majoring in philosophy and German and she was encouraged to study abroad, but finances were a thing of difficulty. So an anonymous donor – who will only be known as ‘Mrs. B’ – gave her the money to travel to Munich and study abroad for the year.”
The only requirement was that she “pay it forward” somehow. The idea stuck and now has resulted in an endowed scholarship fund as part of the Advancing Excellence campaign.
David and Tanya had other reasons for making the gift, too.
“David and I were educators for almost 80 years combined,” Tanya said, “so we have always believed in the growth and development of young people. We wanted to have the endowed scholarship named after Carroll and Mary, as well as have an opportunity to help in the education of youth.”
David spoke more on the opportunities that traveling can offer.
“Travel is an education unto itself,” he said. “You’re seeing other lands and you’re learning about other cultures, but I think even more important than that, you’re learning about how much you really have in common as opposed to differences.”
The couple had help in establishing the fund. Alumni, family and friends of Mary and Carroll made donations. David and Tanya thank these donors.
Tanya commented that she hopes the establishment of this fund will help Guilford with other fundraising efforts.
“Our hopes for the scholarship are to honor Mary and Carroll with a legacy to their work and commitment to world peace, global studies and Guilford College; to promote the education of global studies for future students, and to support Guilford College’s mission to enhance the education of students,” she said.
“We wish to encourage alumni, friends of the College, and the community to provide financial support for the Advancing Excellence campaign to sustain the efforts of Guilford College.”
Tanya ’71 is serving on the Guilford College Alumni Association Board and is a retired principal with Guilford County Schools.
David ’70 is a retired Assistant Professor from the Greensboro College Teacher Education Department and retired principal with Guilford County Schools.
Story by David Pferdekamper ’12
