Donor Honors Parents and Promotes the Arts

Hedy Kolozsvary, a Milwaukee postal worker, got an idea one day while she was reading an article in Money magazine about using estate plans to make charitable gifts.

"I thought, 'What a neat thing to do to start a scholarship to honor someone,'" she recalls, so she decided to do just that.

Hedy named the UWM Foundation as a beneficiary of her workplace retirement plan in order to create the Robert B. and Helen M. Kolozsvary Scholarship at UWM's Peck School of the Arts in memory of her parents. The scholarship is intended for junior or senior students majoring in theatre or musical theatre. Hedy has already begun contributing to this fund, so she can help students right away.

Recalling her childhood, Hedy says, "Appreciation of the arts was instilled in us at an early age. I grew up with music played at home, opportunities to attend plays and the symphony, and the expectation that we would take music lessons. That appreciation has stayed with me throughout my life, and through this scholarship, I can honor the sacrifices my parents made."

Hedy's mother grew up in Romania and was studying music in Vienna when her family had the opportunity to come to America in 1950. In Milwaukee, Helen Kolozsvary '72 attended the Wisconsin College of Music where she studied voice and received a degree in 1968. She then pursued a teaching degree in music and foreign languages at UWM, earning a bachelor's degree in 1972 at the age of 49.

Hedy's designation for her gift reflects both her mother's passion (vocal music) and her own (theatre). "I don't think there's any other experience quite like live theatre. It's amazing what they can do with even a small stage," she explains. "The arts is a career path that isn’t chosen for the money; it’s pursued for for the love of the craft." With this scholarship, Hedy will enable future students to pursue their love of the craft at UWM for years to come.

Support future UWM students, like Hedy did, with a planned gift. To find out how, contact Gretchen E. Miller, J.D. at gemiller@uwm.edu or (414) 229-3067.