Kingston native endows new grant for Tennessee Tech engineering students facing financial hardships
Kingston resident, Tennessee Tech alumna and financial supporter Mary Anne Koltowich
is pictured with her husband, Jim Smith, at the grand opening celebration for Tech's
Ashraf Islam Engineering Building on Oct. 15.
A Kingston resident has funded a new grant for students in Tennessee Tech University's
College of Engineering needing emergency financial support.
Mary Anne Koltowich (`77 civil engineering) established the Koltowich College of Engineering
Student Emergency Grant to provide assistance for students facing unforeseen financial
hardship. These grants do not take the place of federal aid; instead, they are designed
to assist with emergency needs.
“I want to keep students enrolled and help them succeed,” Koltowich said. “If they
drop out, they may never get to realize any of their dreams.”
Koltowich knows firsthand what hardworking, dedicated students can do with a little
financial support, because she and her family are no strangers to hard work. All four
of her grandparents emigrated from Russia in the early 1900s as children – sent by
their parents to escape a hard and brutal existence in hopes of a better life in America.
After graduating from Tech, Koltowich took a job with Tennessee Valley Authority and
held multiple positions in quality assurance and higher management positions at Watts
Bar Nuclear Plant. She later served as a project manager in Oak Ridge and worked on
train derailments, underground storage tank removals for Department of Energy sites,
hazardous materials assessments for the U.S. Navy and more. She eventually set out
on her own and became a professional services consultant, working on projects for
Manufacturing Sciences, British Nuclear Fuels Limited, Isotec Systems and Energy Solutions.
While she has enjoyed a successful career as an engineer, Koltowich says she knows
what it means to struggle financially. While attending Tech, she realized she needed
glasses to see the blackboard in class, but the cost meant she couldn’t afford to
purchase food for two weeks. She knows students face similar struggles today, and
she wants to help.
Koltowich came up with the idea for an emergency grant after a conversation with Joseph
C. Slater, dean of Tech's College of Engineering. Slater told Koltowich about students
who faced unplanned financial hardships and needed assistance. Koltowich says she
was immediately inspired to help. She provided funds both to endow the emergency grant
and for immediate use, and the grant is already making a difference.
At the College of Engineering Etiquette Dinner in September, Slater pulled Koltowich
aside and said, “Your emergency grant saved a student from dropping out of school
today. And she’s in this room tonight.”
Koltowich says Slater didn’t share the student’s name to protect her privacy, but
he told Koltowich that the student was in a bad financial situation through no fault
of her own. Slater told Koltowich, “You’ve already made an impact.”
The emergency grant is not Koltowich’s first gift to Tech; in fact, she has given
to Tech every year for 42 years. She previously established the Koltowich Engineering
Scholarship to support women engineering students and provided generous gifts to the
Engineering Summer Camp for high school students and the Ashraf Islam Engineering
Building to name the Koltowich Automotive Design Lab and Koltowich Outdoor Environmental
Laboratory. She also donates her time and expertise to Tech’s Advisory Council for
Engineering. On Nov. 2, Koltowich was honored with the Outstanding Philanthropy Award
at Tech’s Evening of Excellence.
“Mary Anne Koltowich works relentlessly to help support the college and our students,”
Slater said. “She is the embodiment of Tech’s ethos of ‘Bold, Fearless, Confident
and Kind.’”
The Koltowich College of Engineering Emergency Grant is awarded to engineering students
who have exhausted all financial aid options, including student loans. The financial
hardship must be outside of a student’s control, and the grant may be applied to tuition,
fees, on-campus housing and meal plans.
“Life can be hard,” Koltowich said. “Life is not always fair. But you never give up.
You keep trying. Reach out for help. It’s okay to ask for help because help is available.
That’s what this grant is all about.”
