IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Accomplished graduate drowns

A man who earned five degrees from the University of Connecticut earlier this year drowned while swimming in a quarry.
Deep River Drowning
Devin Gaines, 22, had attracted media attention for finishing at the University of Connecticut earlier this year with five majors in five years.AP
/ Source: The Associated Press

A man who earned five degrees from the University of Connecticut earlier this year drowned while swimming in a quarry.

Divers on Tuesday recovered the body of Devin Thomas Gaines, 22, from a pond at a gravel pit, police said.

In five years as an undergraduate, Gaines compiled 276 credits, majoring in computer science, cognitive science, theater studies, linguistics and psychology, and an individualized program in cinema, culture and cognition, the school said. He also had five minors.

"He was a true university citizen," said Gary English, head of the school's dramatic arts department. "He made the university his oyster. You crave kids like that."

University registrar Jeffrey von Munkwitz-Smith said he believes five majors at once is a school record.

"I'm not leaving college wondering, 'What if I had done this or that?'" Gaines told The Hartford Courant in May. "I kind of like the challenge in some ways. I love learning."

Gaines began his education studying computer science and engineering. After helping another student with a computer design for a theater class, he added a second major in theater studies. The other majors arose from his interest in how people relate to computers, he said.

Gaines credited his success to his multitasking skills.

"I don't get as much sleep as the normal person," he said.

Gaines accepted a computer-based job at a pension-consulting firm in Stamford and had been accepted at New York University, where he planned to pursue a master's degree in educational communication and technology.