E.M. Nowak
E.M. Nowak is the kind of person you would like to have in your family. He’s a problem solver, entrepreneur, and definitely a bit of a rebel. His father, Edmund Nowak, was the Fire Marshall in Oak Park, Michigan until the car accident. Dad was a pedestrian and a driver lost control of their vehicle that ended up injuring him severely, ending his career as a firefighter. At 50+ years old, dad and mom, Yvonne Nowak, returned to high school and earned their high school diplomas, simply because it was something they wanted to accomplish. This scholarship is partially aimed at students who want to become firefighters, in honor of E.M. Nowak’s dad.
E.M. Nowak has been a tinkerer since birth. As a child, he would take things apart (much to his mother’s dismay) just to see how they worked. When things wouldn’t go back together, he’d work on them until they did. When he understood how things worked, he could make things work for him the way he wanted them to. When he graduated from Lincoln High school in the 1950s, he thought he wanted to focus on printing (think printing press) but there were no jobs available and his shop teacher told him about a job in a machine shop. 50+ years later, he’s still in machining. He has owned his own business for 40+ years and while it’s a small shop, he loves the freedom of being in charge. You’ll find him at the shop every day, some days working on jobs for others, other days working on jobs for himself (including working on cars – another passion). This is why this scholarship is also aimed at students who want to study machining.
Even though E.M. Nowak didn’t go to college himself, he has always valued education and has helped many people over the years (and not just blood relatives) pay for college – expecting nothing in return but for them to pay it forward. This scholarship represents one person, paying it forward. Regardless of whether you’re selected for this scholarship, we wish you all the best and hope that your education provides you with the freedom and contentment that it’s brought to so many others over the years.