Feb 26th, 2017, 12:30 PM

Remembering Nutsa Makhviladze

By
Image Credit: Ava de Courtivron
Students say their goodbyes to a cherished friend.

Last Wednesday, March 1, the American Church of Paris held a memorial service for AUP student Nutsa Makhviladze. Nutsa, who died of an meningococcal infection, arrived at AUP in September 2016 and in her short time at the university had become a beloved member of the community. Students and faculty gave speeches at the service, remembering her vibrant and popular presence and took the opportunity to sign condolence books for her parents. The Facebook group, For Nutsa, has been created for friends to share photos and remember her life. 

"I'm unspeakably sad this morning to have to inform you of the loss last night of one of our beautiful, bright, shining first-year students," American University of Paris President Celeste Schenck wrote in an email the previous Friday to announce the tragic news, "She loved being at AUP and was a full member of our little community, known by many and loved by all.  Over these past few days, I have been moved once again to see how this community takes care of its own—we are truly all for one and one for all." 

The evening the news was announced, students close to the Georgian student gathered in the Amex and told stories about Nutsa, comforting and consoling each other. The following Sunday, students had organized a ceremony at the Georgian Orthodox Church where friends went to hear the service in Georgian and pray. 

In honor of Nutsa, the university has planted a tree on campus and opened a scholarship in her name to which students, their families, faculty, and staff will be able to donate. You can do so at AUP's donation page, just select the Nutsa Makhviladze Scholarship Fund. 


Image Credits: Ava de Courtivron, Indie Jansons, Rebecca Simor

Statements From Her Friends

Ava de Courtivron

"Nutsa was someone who could make anyone of any background feel loved and included. She was kind hearted and was a fierce defender of those she loved and what she believed in. She was completely fearless and brave and I have never ever met anyone like her. She was always happy for others when they were at their best, and at their side during their worst. She was incredibly giving and kind hearted and I'll cherish and learn from her qualities for the rest of my life."

Jenny Voutcheva

"She was very proud to be Georgian. She was like a little sunshine, she was this super nice girl who was always smiling and positive. It’s so sad, I still can’t believe it happened to her because she was so genuinely nice and sincere and open and warm. Because many people can pretend to be your friends, but she was very real. I wish I'd known and I could’ve seen her, but it happened so quickly that even her parents couldn’t speak to her. My First Bridge teacher sent out a message to the entire class to write memories about her, and everyone apparently remembered her because of her red hair; it was the new addition to her appearance and she was super happy with it."

Sali Cheishvili

“The first thought that came into my mind was, 'Oh she’s Georgian, and Georgian people are close to each other.' She was so sociable and she already knew so many people when we met her here. She had a natural ability to socialize with other people. Everyone knew her in a positive way. Even today, everyone knows her as cheerful, very bright, always smiling. Never judgmental of anyone which is exceptional here."

Even her style was really significant for her—she was different than others. She listened to different kinds of music, she dressed in a different kind of way, she always had diverse friends, and she was always up to go to different events. She could fit in every society, and everyone enjoyed her company."

Mariam Tamazashvili

“The first time we met her was at the boat party, and we didn’t know her. She was talking to everyone and everyone was talking to her. We went to talk to her and she introduced us to so many people, she knew more people than me. I have been here for almost two years and I don’t know half the people that she knew. Then, we talked a lot and I realized there was something really special about her. Whenever I would judge a person, she would tell me: 'that’s the way she or he is and we cannot change anything about it.' She is a perfect person. I never heard her say something negative about anyone, ever. She was always smiling, happy for everything. She was down for going out and she was super smart, she could combine both lifestyles.”

“AUP is a very small community, we stick together. I didn’t expect that much affection. President Celeste, she was really concerned—she came to the hospital and talked to us. Kevin and Marc still come to us and ask ‘are you guys okay’. We found out the community at AUP is really small but really united. I’m really happy that I’m part of this community.”

Salma El Sabban

“She was so fucking sociable but at the same time she was so smart and her work always came first, she was always on time. In class she would always be the one putting her hand up, she would always be the one participating. I know, last semester, Professor Sawyer absolutely adored her because she was so excited to learn and do stuff. She never let her social life get in the way of her studies, or her studies get in the way of her social life—she had a perfect balance between each, where she was just able to juggle everything at the same time and come into the Amex every single day with this massive smile on her face."

“Without her, I would not have passed my exams last semester because she helped me so much. She’d be in the middle of studies but if I would go to her and ask her any day, she would be more than happy to help. She wouldn’t care if it took time away from hers. She always put others first, and she always lived to make others happy, and that made her happy. She was just a pure soul."

Joachim Fernandez

"She was a little fireball, a smiling little fireball. She just kinda lit up a room. Her presence, just her being around in general brought some kind of warmth to you. She was such a kind, open, ecstatic person. She just seemed to breathe happiness. She wasn’t shy about anything. She was very open with her life. She was ready to meet anyone, befriend anyone. She was open to the world. She had a ridiculously open spirit. And being such a young person, the amount of things she must’ve experienced for the first time. She was ready for anything."

"I have a story I can tell: It was a night out with me and some friends and Nutsa was there. And at one point it was five in the morning... and out of nowhere, we’re like, “man, why don’t we just get on a train and go to the south of France?” We asked everyone in the room. Unprepared, no one had a bag, no one had anything. Besides the people who were really going, Nutsa was the only one who said yes. So at six in the morning we got on a train and we rode it all the way to the south of France. And that shows you who Nutsa was right there. She was saying “yes” to life, always. We had some close friends there, we stayed with them. They loved Nutsa. I told them when Nutsa passed, and even them only knowing her for three days, broke out in tears. So that too, shows you something."

Keta Archaia

"Nutsa was the kind of person who would take advantage of the diversity of the AUP community because she had lots of friends with different backgrounds. I know how tight everyone is within the Georgian community. We don’t like to branch out as much, but she was the exceptional Georgian who was friends with everyone. And I think she really liked that, she took advantage of the society here, the people here. The people is was what she valued the most, and the diversity. She had more friends from different countries than any other Georgian here does. It’s not typical to Georgians, so it was really different, she was very open. Always smiling, always happy, always positive. She never talked about herself, she was always a giving type of person who would listen to you, who was selfless. She was quite artistic, she enjoyed the type of art that I had never heard about, for example. And she really liked drawing, she had tons of drawings around her bed. She had a particular style of drawing.”

“She was so strong, I heard that there were some students who saw her the day before she went to the hospital. And she was still sick, but she was on campus and she was still joyful, she was always positive. Her parents weren’t even aware [of her illness], she didn’t want them to worry about her.”

“I can’t express how thankful I am for President Celeste [Schenck], for Marc [Montheard] and Kevin [Fore]. The Georgian kids stayed with her at the hospital overnight. Her parents got to the hospital the next morning and Marc and Kevin were there. Celeste was on campus all day Sunday, and she tried to comfort us, the students who were friends with Nutsa. She was so accepting of everything and encouraging us. I can’t think what else Celeste could have done, I think she has done everything. Both in terms of accommodating and comforting students who lost Nutsa, but also logistical things."

“Her parents were so strong and so amazing. Their first priority was their daughter, but they tried to keep their emotions in for the rest of the people who were there grieving for her. Her father came to the campus and talked to her roommates. They were putting back their emotions just to comfort us and to take care of logistical things like bringing Nutsa back to Georgia. They were so strong and so incredibly kind, I can’t imagine how they could do that in that terrible situation.”