Three-day WSU event supports scholarship fund
Less than a year after his death, Adam Garapic’s friends at Wright State are organizing a three-day fundraising event to endow a scholarship in his name.
Adam Garapic loved role-playing games, Star Wars, heavy metal, Cleveland sports teams and hanging out with his friends. Despite his disability, the word “can’t” was not in his vocabulary.
Wright State University will host “THT 4 & More: Games for a Raider Cause” on February 22–24 to create the Adam Garapic Memorial Scholarship. Organizers hope to raise $10,000 and fully endow a scholarship in Garapic’s name to memorialize his contributions to the university community.
Adam finished his final exams last March, despite coming down with cold and flu-like symptoms. Because of his muscular dystrophy, a cold could turn serious. When he encountered difficulty breathing, the emergency squad was called. Adam went into cardiac arrest in the ambulance. He was in a coma for a week until he passed away March 21. Shortly before he died, in a hospital room surrounded by his family and friends from campus, Wright State awarded Adam Garapic his degree in electrical engineering.
Students and staff across campus have organized eight tournaments including Texas Hold’em, Halo 3, Guitar Hero III, basketball, Spades, Euchre, dodgeball, and Unreal Tourny 2004. In addition to these tournaments, the event will host a carnival featuring billiards, Ping-Pong, cornhole, rock climbing on Wright State’s new indoor wall, and a raffle to win baseball tickets, a $250 Dell gift card, a $200 Starbucks gift card, and more. In total, there are over $20,000 in prizes ranging from two season tickets to the Cincinnati Reds to a free quarter of Wright State housing from the Office of Residence Services. For a complete listing of prizes and sponsors, go to www.tht4andmore.com.
According to his mother, Chris Garapic, “the last good thing Adam experienced in his life was having a great time with his friends to celebrate being done with school. Adam was well loved. He touched a lot of people.”
Entrance to the event, Fri., Feb. 22, 7 p.m.–midnight; Sat., Feb. 23, 10 a.m.–midnight; and Sun., Feb. 23, 9 a.m.–9 p.m., at the Student Union Atrium, is free and open to the public. Tickets to play in a tournament vary in price. Tickets for carnival games and the raffle are $1. Tickets are available now at Wright State’s Student Union Market or at The Hangar in Allyn Hall 10:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., or during the event. Registration and ticket details can be found at the event’s Web site, www.tht4andmore.com.
