In Laura's Name

She was a force of nature, a loyal and caring friend, a tireless advocate for women’s and girls’ education, and an international worker in multiple countries. And when Laura Kavazanjian, Ed.M.’10, was killed in a car accident in 2011, her HGSE classmates and friends wanted to find a way to carry on both her name and her work.

“I had never met anyone so determined to make a difference in the world,” says Catie Corbin, Ed.M. ’10, a classmate and close friend of Kavazanjian’s. “Apart from being brilliant, Laura was able to engage people with stories around why education professionals needed to prioritize girls’ education. Because of her conviction and her passion, she gained a series of followers.”

During her time in the Ed School’s International Education Policy (IEP) Program, Kavazanjian founded The Girls’ Education Initiative, a student organization dedicated to promoting education for women and girls in the developing world.

“Having lived and worked in China and India prior to beginning the IEP Program, Laura had seen firsthand the challenges that face many girls and women,” says Shannon Gavin, Ed.M. ’10, another classmate and friend.  “Rather than feeling overwhelmed by those challenges, Laura became determined to use education to empower girls to change their own lives and their communities.”

Corbin agrees. “Laura used every argument in the book about why increasing girls’ access to education was the most important priority. She used the economic rationale, the social rationale, and argued that the world would be a more peaceful place with more educated females. She didn't just make statements. She engaged people!”

In 2011, as Kavazanjian’s friends and classmates grieved, they began thinking of ways to honor her and continue the work she loved. They decided to raise funds for a scholarship in her name.

“We started by asking people to donate at Laura’s funeral,” says Katrina Kallman Deutsch, Ed.M. ’10, who spearheaded the fundraising efforts along with several other classmates. “Many of the early donations came through the church where Laura was buried, from people who were at the funeral or who knew her.”

Deutsch and several other HGSE classmates, including Corbin and Gavin, reached out to their IEP cohort, plus their own families, friends, and social networks. They also received donations from the classmates of Kavazanjian’s fiancé, who had been a student at Tufts University’s Fletcher School. Gavin contacted the field hockey team at Brown University, on which Kavazanjian had played as an undergraduate, and the team held a fundraiser to coincide with its annual reunion game.

[caption id="attachment_14298" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Kat Deutsch, Ed.M.'10, runs the Marine Corps Marathon in October 2011 in memory of Laura. (Photo courtesy of Kat Deutsch.)"][/caption]

In conjunction with the group efforts came several individual ones: both Deutsch and Dianne Denton, Ed.M.’10, ran races in Kavazanjian’s honor, asking for donations to the fund. The race donations alone brought in nearly $12,000. The fundraising team used social media to spread the word, even going low-tech to conduct a letter-writing campaign in 2012. A few members of the fundraising group even sold possessions on eBay to meet the $50,000 goal.

In the fall of 2013, the Laura Kavazanjian Memorial Scholarship Fund awarded funds to its first recipient, Alyson Gombas, a student in the IEP Program whose passion aligns closely with Kavazanjian’s. A former Peace Corps member and Fulbright scholar, Gombas has worked and taught English in India, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan. She came to HGSE to learn more about the policies affecting international education and the questions surrounding access to education for women and girls — just as Laura did.

“Laura had already made a difference in the world,” Corbin says. “She left her mark on all who knew her. Her passion infected me — I’ve spent the last three years working on gender issues in international education.”

“The memorial fund directly reflects Laura’s passion,” says Deutsch. “The goal of the fund was to make sure the work Laura would have done can continue in her absence.”

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Kavazanjian’s friends and family and the HGSE community, the work will indeed go on.

To donate to the Laura Kavazanjian Memorial Scholarship Fund at HGSE, visit http://wpdev.gse.harvard.edu/alumni_friends/giving/fund.html and specify “Laura Kavazanjian Memorial Fund” in the Comments box.

Read related story: Continuing the Legacy: Alyson Gombas