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Central thanked a generous donor with a special event on Oct. 26 when university leadership revealed the John Eismont and Anna Sielawko Advising Suite.
Sielawko and her family were on-hand to celebrate and meet with dozens of well-wishers during a dedication ceremony and reception at the university’s Applied Innovation Hub, which houses the advising suite.
Sielawko, a longtime supporter of the Polish Studies program at Central, committed to a gift of $500,000 in January 2022 to establish the John Eismont and Anna Sielawko Engineering Scholarship Fund, named to honor her late brother and to reflect their shared passion for engineering. The fund supports scholarship awards for Central undergraduates in good academic standing who are pursuing studies in the field of engineering.
Two recent winners of the Eismont and Sielawko scholarship, Samuel Wytas of East Haddam and Christopher Stasiak of New Britain, also attended the ceremony.
“When Anna established a scholarship at Central to honor her brother, John, we knew it would be life-changing for many students, such as our guests this evening. Engineering professionals are in high demand, and her generous contribution will ensure many of them going forward are Central graduates,” Central President Zulma R. Toro noted.
Sielawko is a vice president and senior consultant at Sawka, Wiegert, Sielawko & Associates, a Merrill Lynch wealth management group based in Hartford. Her career in finance follows a 17-year tenure at ABB Combustion Engineering, where she worked in several project management and engineering areas.
Throughout her career, Sielawko has supported several cultural and nonprofit organizations. including the Polish Studies program at Central. She serves on the program’s Advisory Board as well as the Board of Trustees of Polish American Foundation of Connecticut. In 2002, she was named Immigrant of the Year by the Connecticut General Assembly in 2002 for outstanding achievements, leadership and commitment to the Polish community and Connecticut.