ACCESS | YOUNG ARTIST DESTINATION
New Scholarship Honors an Extraordinary Tenure at Interlochen
“Beyond the numbers and the projects, what stands out is Pat’s steadiness. His integrity. His thoughtfulness. Interlochen is much stronger because of him, and we would be a much lesser organization had it not been for his decades of service.” — Trey Devey, President
Interlochen employee Pat Kessel (ICA St 91-26) retired on May 31. Pat served as our Vice President of Finance from 2004 to 2014, then as VP of Finance and Operations from 2014 through 2026. Pat’s 35-year tenure was as extraordinary in impact as in duration. That’s why our Board of Trustees chose to surprise Pat—and empower future generations of young artists—with an endowed scholarship in honor of his contributions to arts education and the Interlochen community. Working alongside five Interlochen presidents, Pat profoundly shaped Interlochen’s growth, bolstering its financial health and stability. His fiscal acumen was essential in Interlochen achieving balanced budgets every year since 2004, save one during the height of COVID disruptions. Pat oversaw the successful completion of numerous projects of the decades-long Sasaki campus master plan, including new facilities for every artistic discipline. More recently, he also spearheaded the establishment of our sustainability initiative.
The Kessel family’s ties to our institution are multifaceted, too. Pat and his wife Barb (ICA St 92-96) met as employees, and their daughters—Allie Kessel (IAC 06-07, 09-10, IAA 12-15, ICA St 14, IAC Fac 19) and Jody Burns (IAC 01-03, 05, IAA 06-08, IAC St 09-12, IAC Fac 12-17, ICA St 16-17)—both studied and worked here. In honor of the Kessels’ deep love of and commitment to this place, dozens of current and former trustees joined forces to honor Pat and Barb by funding the new Patrick M. and Barbara A. Kessel Scholarship Endowment , which will support the most deserving young artists at both Academy and Camp, with a preference for students in the disciplines their daughters studied: musical theatre and singer-songwriting.
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