Volunteer Spotlight: Pauline Eveillard
Pauline (center) and her husband Doug Gould, A03 (left), met when serving as volunteers with YFTA. Here, they're connecting with other alumni at the Brighter World campaign launch event in San Francisco.
Growing up in New York City, Pauline Eveillard, A05, member of the Arts and Sciences Campaign Committee and the A&S School co-chair for annual giving, frequented art museums with her family. But it wasn’t until she took a course on Impressionism and Post-Impressionism during her freshman year at Tufts that her love of art history took off. Majoring in art history and studying abroad in Rome during her junior year were highlights of Pauline’s Tufts experience. After graduating, she spent a year in Tunisia on a Fulbright Scholarship, a life-changing opportunity made possible, in part, by Tufts having provided support and assistance to her with the intensive Fulbright application process. Today, Pauline runs her own business, importing and selling Tunisian decorative items and apparel.
Ever since returning from that first trip to Tunisia, Pauline has been a dedicated volunteer for Tufts. She spent a number of years as a member, and then co-chair, of the Young Friends of Tufts Advancement (YFTA). She has also served tirelessly on reunion committees, as a Tufts Fund Gift Officer, and as a member of Tufts Alumni New York, and—since moving to California—of Tufts Alumni San Francisco.
Providing support for financial aid is particularly important to Pauline. “I so appreciate the Tufts experience that I had, and I want others to be able to have that experience, too. That’s why I give to financial aid. I want to help offset the growing cost of higher education for individuals whose families don’t have the means to pay for it.” She comments that it’s gratifying to see that financial aid is a campaign priority.
Describing what she enjoys about working on the Arts and Sciences Campaign Committee, Pauline says, “I like learning about campaign goal-setting and milestones—and about Brighter World’s impact on all the different parts of the university.” In talking with potential donors, she finds that people often ask, “What does my gift go to?” With her knowledge of the campaign, she says, “I can direct them to a specific cause that is of interest to them, such as professorships, spaces, financial aid, or research.” She tells them that, “Tufts doesn’t rely on just one single thing to be a successful and renowned university. All these facets together create the Tufts experience.” She believes that conveying this message “helps people get over the hurdle of what their small gift will do. It all builds toward something. Participation is important. Every gift is Jumbo!”