Making the most of a match

Kevin and AJ KleinOsowski now live in Texas, but they haven't forgotten their alma mater. In addition to a generous estate gift to IT, the couple recently created a fellowship.

Photo by Matthew Mason

From M, spring 2005

Matching dollars have motivated one young alumni couple to create a fellowship now rather than later. AJ KleinOsowski, Ph.D. '04, and Kevin KleinOsowski, M.S. '05, recently pledged $25,000 to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, from which they both graduated. Their gift was matched by IBM, AJ's employer, and by the U's 21st Century Graduate Fellowship Endowment, bringing the total impact of their giving to $100,000.

"I wouldn't have made it through school without financial help," says AJ, who received her Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering. "The U is a top-notch research university. I am proud to be a graduate and happy to support this fine school." As an undergraduate, AJ received numerous scholarships, and as a graduate student, she received an IBM fellowship that took her back and forth to Texas where the couple now lives.

Knowing that their education and hard work would one day reap financial rewards, the KleinOsowskis vowed that when all their student loans were paid off, they would take the equivalent payments and direct them toward scholarships. They have supported two undergraduate scholarships, one at the University of Wisconsin and one in the U's Institute of Technology (IT).

The depth of the KleinOsowskis' gratitude runs deeper still. A little more than three years ago the two made their first gift commitment in the form of a very generous estate gift to the U to benefit IT graduate education. "We wanted to make sure, in case anything happened, that what assets we had were directed appropriately," adds AJ.