Development News
Koltowich College of Engineering Student Emergency Grant keeps students enrolled at Tennessee Tech
A new grant for Tennessee Tech’s College of Engineering is making a difference for
students in need of 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,” she 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 of the glasses meant she couldn’t afford to purchase food for two weeks. She knows students face similar struggles today, and she wants to help.
Koltowich learned about the need for an emergency grant when she asked Dr. Joseph C. Slater, dean of the College of Engineering, what the college’s greatest need is. Slater said the college needs funding to help students stay in school. Some students are working two jobs, he explained, but it still isn’t enough. When an unforeseen circumstance like a flat tire happens, they can’t afford to fix it.
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. The student’s parents made some poor decisions that left her unable to pay for school.
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.”
