The Anne Carroll Mustian Ezzelle Art Student Enrichment Fund was established last year by her husband Brian Ezzelle. Anne Carroll Ezzelle, ‘90, was an art major at Meredith and taught elementary art for 29 years in Chesterfield County, Va. During that time she fostered her students’ creativity and encouraged them to reach their goals. In spring 2021, Brian created a $50,000 endowment in memory of Anne Carroll, who passed away last year, to provide enhanced learning opportunities for art students with financial needs.

“When we were in school in the late ’80s she was always running around to get art supplies for her classes at Meredith,” said Brian. “She also would always help her students at Reams Road Elementary, where she taught. A lot of the students came from economically challenged households and she wanted to soften the blow of the cost of supplies for them because she knew art would give them something outside of their normal life.”

The enrichment fund will provide enhanced study opportunities for students with financial needs and may include, but not be limited to, art supplies and equipment, field trips, experiential learning including internships, workshops, seminars, art-related research, and presentations at professional art conferences, art educators meetings, and the study of art history.

“I wanted to establish this fund because I knew Anne Carroll did this for her kids at Reams Road Elementary. She bought supplies so they could have an enriched experience. She saw art as an oasis for some of these kids. She saw kids going through rough situations and tried to expose them to as much as she could,” said Brian.

Anne Carroll was also appreciative of her art education at Meredith College and the deep friendships that were formed. Martha Ann Brawley McConnell was her roommate all four years.

“We were actually very different people when we moved in together at Meredith. We had wildly different personalities. By the end of her life, I felt like our lives were forever intertwined and she is just part of the person into whom I grew,” said McConnell. “I want people to know how smart, funny, and loving Anne Carroll was. She was a great mother, wife, and friend who always took time to check in on her friends and offered the most amazing love and support. Anne Carroll would be so proud of Brian for thinking about creating such a beautiful gift in her memory.”

Anne Carroll also stayed connected to the College and attended several alumnae events including a chapter event in Richmond, Va., with her daughter, Meredith, who is currently a sophomore at Meredith College majoring in communication.

“My mother loved Meredith College. It is the place where she discovered that she wanted to be an art teacher. She met her best friends there that I am very close to now,” said Meredith. “She was a great mother, who did her best for my older sister, younger brother, and me. My mother never put any pressure on me to choose where to attend college, she wanted me to be at a place where I was happy. I decided to attend Meredith College because I love the small-school atmosphere and after she passed, the school helped me a lot with coping.”

Anne Carroll went on to receive her master’s degree in art education at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1995. She loved teaching and felt it was important to teach something she loved. “She believed art was a tool, a tool to pass along to others, and hopefully the person learning would continue to spread it through generations,” said Brian.