When Clay Vaughan, a member of the University of Georgia’s chapter of the Chi Psi fraternity, was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in January 2025, his fraternity rallied to support him. So far, the GoFundMe created in support of Vaughan by Chi Psi President Cameron Hewatt, a junior political science major, has raised over $25,000.
Clay’s Story
Vaughan, a sophomore studying electrical engineering at UGA, was admitted into the hospital on Dec. 24, 2024 with severe migraines. He was given a brain scan which found a mass in the center of his brain. He had hydrocephalus, a buildup of fluid inside the brain that can cause seizures and other cognitive issues.
Vaughan was immediately put onto a helicopter and sent to Atlanta for surgery the morning of Christmas Eve. On Jan. 1, he received his second surgery to have a stent put in the back of his head. He spent Christmas and New Year’s recovering in the hospital after surgery.
“I’ve always been a really positive guy,” Vaughan said. “I was only really scared for like, the first hour that I heard about it, and then they said they were going to put me on a helicopter. And I was like, ‘You know what? I’m probably about to get some real good care. They don’t just throw anybody on a helicopter.’”
The precautionary visit came back with test results of a brain tumor. Vaughan has germinoma, a type of brain tumor, on the pineal gland of the brain. This is a rare form of cancer that only occurs in ages 10 -21 with only about 100 cases a year in the U.S., according to Vaughan’s GoFundMe. The American Brain Tumor Association reports that around 3% of childhood brain tumors occur in the pineal region, and less than 1% of brain tumors overall.
Chi Psi members visited Vaughan in the hospital, and soon Hewatt set up the GoFundMe and sent it to an alumnus of the fraternity. The alumnus sent the GoFundMe out to other alumni overnight.
“I wake up in the morning and he had sent it out to a bunch of other alumni, and there was $5,000 in there already,” Hewatt said. “We have a brother in need, and so they’re more than willing to give that.”
Vaughan started chemo at the end of January and is set to receive four rounds until April. He will then start laser radiation. He is expected to have a full recovery and return to UGA in the fall of 2025.
Chi Psi is hosting a philanthropy event, “Clay Day,” on April 9 in support of Vaughan and his family to raise money.
