Transferring A Legacy

Student funds scholarships to honor late parents.

By Kim Marselas, Terp Magazine

Chelsea Gracyalny had barely started elementary school when she lost both parents in a horrific accident.

Now in college, Gracyalny is keeping their memory alive by helping others pursue an opportunity her father never had. She recently gave $13,000 to double the College of Arts and Humanities’ Douglas and Holly Jacobs Memorial Scholarship, granted each year to a community college transfer student who demonstrates financial need. She’ll give another $5,000 on her father’s birthday for the next four years, a commitment that should enable annual awards to increase.

The pledge makes her the college’s youngest donor during the Great Expectations campaign.

“It was always something that I wanted to do,” says the third-year film and video major at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art. “As a student, I know how expensive college can be.”

Gracyalny remembers her father as “very social and adventurous.” Originally from Pittsburgh, he attended community college, then joined the Air Force. While stationed in England as part of the dental service, he met Holly, a reserved Louisiana native, when he was assigned to clean her teeth.

Although Douglas Jacobs never completed a four-year degree, he went on to a successful career in dental supply sales. He was awarded in 1999 for his outstanding performance with a trip to Napa Valley, Calif. There, the hot-air balloon the couple was riding in hit power lines and burst into flames less than 300 feet from takeoff.

At 7, Chelsea became an orphan. Her aunt, Wendy Jacobs, an art professor and associate dean at UMD, brought Chelsea from Georgia to Maryland, and she and her husband, David Gracyalny, later adopted her.

Her father’s co-workers hosted golf tournaments and friends raised money for Chelsea’s care. A wrongful death suit brought on her behalf resulted in an annuity that ensured her needs would be met into adulthood. Her family decided in 2002 to instead use the contributions from friends and colleagues—an initial $4,000 that grew to about $13,000—to establish a living legacy at the university.

Now that Gracyalny understands the fund’s value, she sees it as a way to connect with her mom and dad.

“I didn’t create this fund, but my family knew it would be important,” she says. “Their memory isn’t forgotten.”