Kenneth Koch Memorial Scholarship Fund

Kenneth Koch was a respected and beloved Theatre Arts teacher for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. He was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, an aggressive and incurable brain disease, in early July 2013, and after a tough battle, Ken passed away on August 15, 2013. He was only 42 years old.

The Kenneth Koch Memorial Scholarship Fund is being established in his memory to honor his love and appreciation of the performing arts. The cash award will be distributed to a deserving student once a year based on the following criteria.

• The student must be graduating from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District

• The student will have been accepted and matriculated into a 2- or 4-year college or university to study the performing arts.

• The student will have participated in a band, orchestra, choral or theatre arts program throughout his or her high school career.

• The student will have been nominated by his or her teacher for the above discipline.

About the Man

Originally from Upstate New York, Ken developed his love for the theatre and teaching at an early age. His folks would often give in and take him to shows on Broadway or other venues as his father’s job for a computer company had them moving around the country often. He told his mother at age 9 he wanted to be a teacher. Ken studied Theatre Arts at SUNY New Paltz, where he discovered his second love, working with students. Upon graduating, he began a successful career in higher education student affairs, and then earned his master’s degree in social sciences with a focus in higher education from SUNY Binghamton University in 2001.

In 2004 Ken decided to leave higher education to teach middle school theatre arts, where he hoped to make a positive impact on developing youth. Ken did just that with his firm belief in teaching with passion, compassion, and a sense of humor. His teaching style raised the bar by teaching the arts across the curriculum, and he was awarded many honors and accolades throughout his career. His students always said he treated them with the respect and maturity they showed him, and he left a lasting impact on every student he taught.

Ken was an amazing human being who touched the lives of everyone he met in some way. He left behind hundreds of students, friends and co-workers, and is survived by his parents and his partner. It is the hope of all these individuals to keep his legacy alive.

Fund Adminstrators

• Dean Zoch

Donations

CharitySmith accepts donations in two ways:

The above Memorial Fund is established as a division of Charitysmith Nonprofit Foundation (EIN 87-0636433). All donations are tax deductible in accordance with federal tax law. Receipts for tax purposes are sent via US Mail within two weeks of donation. Please consider asking if your employer participates in a gift-matching program. If so, your donation may be matched by your employer.

For questions regarding your donation or this memorial fund please contact CharitySmith.