ACCESS | YOUNG ARTIST DESTINATION
Family Ties to Interlochen Inspire an Array of Scholarships
With nearly a century of artists’ journeys in our history, it’s no surprise that Interlochen has become an experience shared by multiple generations of the same family. For the Stark family, these cherished Interlochen ties are both artistic and philanthropic. It all started with Nathan Stark (IAC/NMC 89-90), whose Camp summers studying horn profoundly influenced his early years. After his sons—Carter (IAC 14-17, IAA 18-20, IAC St 23-24) and Adrian (IAC 15-19, IAA 19-21)—had begun their own Interlochen journeys, Nathan and his wife Christie created multiple Camp scholarships, both annual and endowed and both need- and merit-based. Then, during the COVID pandemic, the Starks “had the opportunity to host an international student over the holidays and summer, because they could not go home,” Nathan explains. The family came to appreciate all the more “the talent and shared experience that international students bring to Interlochen.” That inspired Nathan’s father Gene to establish the Stark Family Academy Scholarship Endowment , which will offer perpetual support for international students at the Academy. Together, these three generations of Starks have created (or inspired!) scholarships in most categories of financial aid that Interlochen offers.
Nathan Stark (IAC/NMC 89-90) with Camp cabinmates in 1990; Nathan is second from right in the middle row.
Carter (IAC 14-17, IAA 18-20, IAC St 23-24) and Adrian Stark (IAC 15-19, IAA 19-21) at their 2016 Camp drop-off.
A Scholarship for Camp Students Both Today and for Many Tomorrows
We remain deeply grateful to the supporters who, like Interlochen itself, strive to invest in the next generations of young artists while also expanding access to our education now. Supporter
fund allowed the scholarship’s impact to begin immediately. At the same time, he also created a plan to endow the scholarship through a planned gift from his estate. Meanwhile, long before his estate gift is realized, Robert took an intermediate step in late 2025 through a major gift that both expands his Camp scholarship and kickstarts the endowment that will sustain it permanently. Support like this is essential to Interlochen achieving its ambitious goal of meeting the demonstrated financial need of all admitted students by the end of this decade. Through his careful, planned philanthropy, Robert is actively supporting young artists today—and will continue to do so long into Interlochen’s second century.
and alumnus Robert Scholten (IAC/NMC 61-63, IAC/NMC St 72-73) has structured his philanthropy in this way, boosting access to Camp in both the present and the future. When creating the Robert C. Scholten Camp Scholarship in 2019, his strategic contributions to its expendable
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2026 ANNUAL REPORT OF GIFTS
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