STUDENT SUPPORT

DaVaughn M. Vincent-Bryan '08

DaVaughn M. Vincent-Bryan '08 came to the University of Vermont from Christopher Columbus High School in 2004 and had an immediate impact on student life at UVM. DaVaughn had been involved at CCHS with an organization called the National Council for Unity, which was born in the wake of interracial strife among groups of students in Brooklyn in 1975. The national, non-profit organization has a history of successfully promoting inter-group relations while bridging the gaps between ethnic groups.

DaVaughn served as secretary of the Council's national conference while still at CCHS, and his commitment to the group had him thinking about how to engage UVM in the network even prior to arriving on campus. As a participant in the Summer Enrichment Scholarship Program, he used his free time researching the steps necessary to launch a recognized student organization at UVM. He drafted a members' manual and organizational protocols, drew up a budget with the aid of fellow student Andrew Kehl, and began recruiting the chapter members.

Once the academic year began, he recruited an advisor, created the organizational leadership structure consisting of Executive Board members and Committee Chairs, and successfully brought the fledgling organization through the formal steps needed for recognition as an official student organization.

Thanks to his extraordinary energy and commitment, the University of Vermont is the first institution of higher education in the nation to form a recognized chapter of the National Council for Unity. Today, the organization is thriving with about 100 members and a variety of activities that promote multicultural understanding.