Gunshot survivor Gabby Giffords encourages student activists in SF visit

Ex-Rep. Gabby Giffords (center) and husband Mark Kelly chat with University of California President Janet Napolitano at a fundraiser for a scholarship in memory of her former aide. Ex-Rep. Gabby Giffords (center) and husband Mark Kelly chat with University of California President Janet Napolitano at a fundraiser for a scholarship in memory of her former aide. Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Gunshot survivor Gabby Giffords encourages student activists in SF visit 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

In a college essay, Gabe Zimmerman, who later found himself drawn to public service as an aide for Rep. Gabby Giffords, wrote about his passion to create systemic change. Seven years after he was killed by a gunman, the voices of students who survived yet another mass shooting might finally bring about the progress he envisioned.

In remarks at a San Francisco scholarship fundraiser named for Zimmerman, Giffords, along with her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly and University of California leaders, connected Zimmerman’s drive for public service with the power of the student leadership emerging after last month’s mass shooting in Parkland, Fla.

“Be bold, be courageous,” Giffords said. “The nation is counting on you.”

In 2011, Giffords, D-Ariz., survived an assassination attempt by a gunman while she spoke to constituents outside a Safeway in Tucson. Zimmerman, 30, a UC Santa Cruz alumnus and her longtime aide, was one of six people killed in the shooting.

His death inspired two UC Santa Cruz alumni, who did not know him personally, to endow a scholarship in his name for students in the social sciences who wish to pursue public service.

UC President Janet Napolitano was unequivocal in her support for the youth-driven protests for stricter gun control measures that have erupted since the shooting in Florida.

All 10 University of California campuses have issued individual statements assuring prospective students that they would not face consequences for admission if they participate in widespread school walkouts scheduled for March 14.

“We’re the University of California, we support peaceful protest of any type, and this seems to me to be a very important one,” Napolitano said. “If they choose to participate in a protest on that day, that is their right.”

Napolitano called the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where a former student allegedly killed 17 people on Feb. 14, a reminder of how persistent the problem of gun violence is in the United States.

“I am heartened by the young activists who have mobilized to protect their right to an education without fear of violence,” Napolitano said. “What feels different about this time is the power of the students’ voices out of Parkland.”

Friends and family who knew Zimmerman remembered him as someone who thought deeply about his work and its impact on the public while remaining good-natured and lovable. Kelly recalled how whenever an angry constituent would call Giffords’ office, staff would immediately hand the phone to Zimmerman, who always could calm the caller down.

“Gabe had really high-minded ideas about service and democracy,” Kelly said. “He really deserved an entire life to advancing that.”

Emily Nottingham, Zimmerman’s mother, said she believed he would be proud to see the wave of young students taking charge in the wake of the Parkland shootings. She thinks about her son whenever she takes part in social activism.

“Whenever I march, I can feel him there beside me,” Nottingham said.