New Libraries endowed scholarship is awarded

Alexa Artis, a senior majoring in International Studies, is the first recipient of the Lucile Laughinghouse Gabriel Scholarship, a new Libraries scholarship for outstanding student workers. With her degree—plus a minor in Ethics—Artis plans to pursue a career in web development. That might seem like an atypical match, but it makes sense for her aspirations.

“I’ve been interested in traveling and learning about different cultures and peoples, and specifically understanding how key issues, such as economic development, globalization, and ethics, impact them,” Artis writes in her scholarship application. “Many NGO endeavors, such as donating items or setting up water wells, have many unintended consequences such as disrupting the local economic and sociological chain. I'm interested in researching these well-intended but not well-executed endeavors, their impacts, and their solutions.”

Lucile Laughinghouse Gabriel has established the scholarship with a gift for an endowment. The Gabriel family has further supported the Libraries through a contribution to the Libraries Student Resource Fund by Mrs. Gabriel’s daughter Elin Gabriel.

Last spring, Artis spent NC State’s alternative service break working with San Francisco nonprofits such as Project Open Hands, GLIDE, the SF AIDS Foundation, and Literacy for Environmental Justice, serving intersectional and marginalized communities. She found the experience eye-opening as to the pervasive need for social services as well as inspiring in how NGOs are meeting those needs.

“Many of the nonprofits we partnered and worked with aimed to holistically improve the lives of those they helped. This changed my view of helping and improving the lives of individuals to a more rounded one,” Artis writes. “Instead of just focusing on the fact that someone is homeless or hungry, it does not alleviate their situation. The underlying causes and impacts need to be addressed as well, for any good to truly be done in the long term.”

As Artis finishes her degree, and accumulates work experiences like her service week and her Libraries job, she has reflected upon the university’s “Think and Do” motto. A summer working with her father’s business has helped her see herself in those words.

“Personally, I've always liked being a doer. I like helping someone, or something, reach a goal,” Artis writes. “However, this summer, my dad taught me how to not just do the work, but how to think, strategize, and lead when he hired me to look over his business operations. Before, I would have only been doing what I was told to do, however now I know that I can create and complete my own list of objectives.”

Lucile Laughinghouse Gabriel has had a life-long love affair with books and libraries. When her children were growing up, she worked tirelessly with the schools to expand the school library selection and with the local community to build a regional public library. Weekly family trips to the library were codified and all her children grew up with a similar love of books and libraries. Even now, in the early days of her tenth decade of life, Mrs. Gabriel continues to read voraciously every day.

This appreciation led Mrs. Gabriel to make this generous gift to the Libraries. She appreciates all those who work in libraries and understands the importance of scholarships that can help reduce the financial burden of attending college, and she hopes that her gift will encourage future students. “Reading and education are doorways for life,” Mrs. Gabriel says. “I want to support the opening of these doors for our future generations.”