Kowaleski-Torgersen Interlochen Scholarship

Ann Kowaleski and Eric Torgersen have spent their lives following two enduring callings: service to others and devotion to the arts. Through the Kowaleski-Torgersen Interlochen Scholarship Fund, they’re bringing those values together in a practical, lasting way, helping young people experience the creative spark and formative mentorship that shaped their own lives.

Established to light the spark of written and visual arts in local youth, this scholarship fund is rooted in a simple belief: talent grows when opportunity is within reach. Ann and Eric know firsthand what it means for a young person to discover a passion, find their voice, and be encouraged to keep going. Their hope is that this fund helps more students take that first brave step into a serious arts experience, one that can open doors, build confidence, and change the trajectory of a life.

Ann’s commitment to community was modeled early. Raised in Remus, she watched her father serve as a local doctor and her mother work as a social worker, two prime examples of steady, everyday care for neighbors. Ann’s own connection to Interlochen became intertwined with her love for art and the natural world. While her professional path led her to counseling and social work, earning two degrees at Central Michigan University, art remained a constant. Museums, especially the Detroit Institute of Arts, were regular sources of inspiration. One of her most lasting artistic influences came from her grandmother, a traditional quilter who taught Ann the craft and its quiet discipline. Ann later became known for her “literary quilts,” blending storytelling and imagery through fabric. In 1983, her pictorial quilt Seven Ravens, inspired by the Grimm fairy tale that her grandmother taught her, earned first prize—an early milestone in a creative journey that continues today.

Eric’s story begins in Melville, New York, not far from the birthplace of Walt Whitman - a fitting detail for someone who found his way to poetry early. He wrote his first poems in third grade and carried an enduring sense that writing would always be part of his life. He attended Cornell University at the age of 16 on scholarship, studying German literature in honor of his grandmother, and later earned a Master of Fine Arts in poetry at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Service has been a defining thread in his life as well: before graduate school, he spent two years in the Peace Corps in Ethiopia teaching English at Haile Selassie I University. He later built a long teaching career at Central Michigan University, where he spent 38 years helping students develop their craft, and several of his students went on to publish their own work. Eric has published eight books and chapbooks of poetry, two works of fiction, and a full-length study of Rainer Maria Rilke and Paula Modersohn-Becker. He is also a translator of German poetry.

Ann and Eric’s partnership is as much a shared story as it is a shared mission. They met at the Model Bakery in downtown Mt. Pleasant, introduced by everyday life, good bread, and an artist’s eye for detail, and have spent decades creating, teaching, and investing in community. Inspired by the example of family, mentors, and local philanthropy, they established this fund to ensure the arts remain a living, reachable possibility for the next generation.

The Kowaleski-Torgersen Interlochen Scholarship Fund was established in December 2025 to provide scholarship(s) to Interlochen Center for the Arts summer arts program for Isabella County middle and high school students.

Scholarship Eligibility Criteria:

• Be an Isabella County middle or high school student (6th through 12th grades) at the time of application.

• Be attending an Interlochen Center for the Arts summer arts program

• Demonstrate financial need (in alignment with Interlochen’s financial need and as best as can be determined).

Preferences:

• Student is attending for creative writing or visual arts.

Additional information regarding the Kowaleski-Torgersen Interlochen Scholarship will be included at a later date.