By Erin Gray
egray@statenews.com
Carolena Elowsky was an MSU sophomore who had plans to study abroad this year and pursue a master’s degree at Harvard University.
Maura Brandi was a sophomore who had dreams of working in landscape architecture after graduation, all according to Nancy Gilbert, an MSU alumna and family friend of the Elowsky family. Hopes for reaching these goals ended when these two girls were killed in a weather-related car crash Jan. 2.
The parents of Elowsky and Brandi wanted the girls’ legacies to continue on Earth, although Elowsky and Brandi are not here to accomplish this themselves. The solution was to create fundraisers in their names.
“Carolena was an outstanding young lady,” said Carolena’s father, Grant Elowsky. “To honor Carolena’s memory, we have created The Carolena Elowsky MSU Scholarship Fund at Charlevoix State Bank with the thought of awarding monies every spring to deserving high school graduates intending to enroll at MSU.”
The Charlevoix State Bank account was activated by Carolena’s parents at the time of the funeral, so that family and friends could contribute to a fundraiser in her name.
“(Elowsky’s parents) wanted to do something extra and they knew people would want to give,” Gilbert said. An additional fundraiser is set in Brandi’s name for the Charlevoix County Community Foundation, Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. The Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council focuses on preserving Northern Michigan’s lakes, ponds, streams and wetlands, according to the organization’s website.
“The girls had some things that they were really endeared with,” Gilbert said. Brandi had a passion for Northern Michigan and the environment, according to Gilbert.
Soon after the funeral, Gilbert set up an MSU development fund to merge with the Charlevoix State Bank account. She contacted members across the U.S. to raise awareness of the tragedy and raise donations for this scholarship fund.
“I think once you’re a Spartan, you’re always a Spartan and you want to support those kinds of things,” Gilbert said. “You want to make sure individuals who are part of the alumni club know that there are available options to make donations.”
Elowsky was a member of the MSU sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma. She was initiated last November.
“I know they both were really involved with school and I think it is a great way to remember their legacy,” said Lisa White, president of Kappa Kappa Gamma at MSU.
The campaign is striving to reach $50,000 for the MSU development fund, which is raising money for different aspects of life at the university. The campaign will host events to raise money for the charity during the springtime in Charlevoix, Gilbert said.
T-shirts are available to buy through the, and 100 percent of the proceeds will be given to the MSU development fund. As of Sunday, 88 shirts have been sold.
“Their lives were lived full,” Gilbert said. “You live from the moment you wake up, until you hit the pillow at night.”
