Dawne and Steven Olensky

Dawne Olensky established the Steven D. Olensky Scholarship at Bergen Community College to provide scholarships for single head-of-household women with children.

Dawne was the single mother of a young child, who now lives in Florida with children of her own, when she met Steven; the two had a child together, who now works in the music entertainment industry.

Dawne had dropped out of college due to the hardship she faced juggling the demands of being a head-of-the-household mother and a student. She never lost her desire to achieve a higher education, and with Steven’s encouragement, Dawne returned to college and obtained her associate’s degree. Together, she and Steven – who himself was enrolled in graduate classes at the time – juggled their family and business responsibilities, and this time, the financial burden was not Dawne’s to face alone.

She subsequently worked in real estate and even organized her own company, Twinberry Associates, an outsource provider of administrative and accounting services.

Steven passed just ten days before what would have been his 50th birthday on July 5, 2009. He was the co-founder of Landing Technology Group, LLC (LTG), a full-service communications consulting firm with clients that included Sony, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Legal Aid Society, and Mount Sinai Medical Center. He earned his bachelor’s and MBA from New York University. This scholarship bearing Steven’s name ensures that his memory goes on in perpetuity.