Elaine’s Scholarship Fund

How It Came to Be and Where It Got Its Name

Elaine started at Golden Key Piano School when she was four years old and continued studying with Katrin Arefy until she graduated from high school. She was accepted at many highly ranked universities in the United States and chose MIT to continue her education. Elaine’s innate talent, discipline, and seriousness made her an example of the best student in her age group and a dream student with whom to work.

Today, Elaine is not only a role model for our younger students for the way she mastered her piano playing, but also she is a role model for all the students for her modesty, generosity, and her act of kindness. We hear often from our students’ parents that they want their children to play like Elaine and to have her compassion when they grow up.

After Elaine graduated from Golden Key Piano School, I received the following email from her, which I share here with her permission.

Hi Katrin,

I hope you’ve had a good couple of weeks since our last lesson. I wanted to reach out to say thank you again for everything you’ve taught me throughout almost my whole life. I could not have asked for a better person to teach me not only about piano but also about the values in music as a whole. In fact, I am even taking a course at MIT this semester called “Introduction to Western Music” which goes through the history of western classical music, from early medieval music to contemporary concert music and opera. This is just one example of how excited I am to continue learning more about music these next few years and adding to everything I have already learned from you. I remember being excited for the fundraiser concert simply because I could leave the Golden Key Piano School knowing that I had given someone else the chance to learn as much as I had. Of course, we couldn’t end up doing the concert, but I still want to give back in some way. What would be the best way to donate money?

Sincerely,
Elaine

Elaine’s gesture was so beautiful that I was impelled to consider how I could show her my deep appreciation and assure her that her kindness would have a significant and lasting result.

Our first fund-raising concert, which was intended to raise funds for students from low-income families, was canceled because of Covid-19 restrictions. And so, Elaine accepted my idea of starting a scholarship fund in her name. Soon after we started the scholarship fund other parents joined in with such generosity that Elaine’s donation doubled in only five days.

It is my fervent hope that we can continue to raise money from other sources for this scholarship so my dream that students from all parts of our society could have the chance to have quality lessons at Golden Key Piano School would come true.

Many thanks If you would like to join Elaine and contribute to the scholarship, there are three ways to make your donation: