Giving

Empowering Future Doctors: The Prokop Family Scholarship at Northwestern

In the fall of 1953, a young Brad Prokop, ’54, ’57 MD, faced a pivotal decision. Accepted into medical school at both the University of Chicago and Northwestern University, he chose Northwestern, setting the stage for a lifelong connection with his alma mater.

Not long after beginning his medical school journey, financial challenges emerged, prompting him to seek additional funds for essentials like food. His resourcefulness led him to various jobs, including tidal volume testing at the VA hospital and monitoring the back entrance at Passavant Memorial Hospital, now Northwestern Medicine. But money was tight throughout his schooling.

“I had not realized that there would be many times in various circumstances when eating would depend on ‘out-of-pocket’ funds,” Prokop said. So, in hopes of alleviating the financial burden for future medical students, in 2024 he and his wife, Adrienne, established the Bradford S. and Adrienne V. Prokop Family Scholarship, a testament to their enduring commitment to education and Northwestern University.

In September, the first two Prokop scholars were named: Ben Weiss of Ocean Township, New Jersey, and Jasmine Machhi of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Both are first-year medical students.

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine hopes to one day provide more scholarship support to more students but must quadruple the current endowment to reach all enrollees. Additionally, fundraising in support of scholarships has become a competitive necessity, as other top institutions also aim to provide financial assistance to all students. Many other Feinberg donors, like the Prokops, have been generous in supporting scholarships through outright gifts, through their estate plans, or both.

“Dr. Prokop knows from experience how cost-prohibitive medical education can be, and it remains cost-prohibitive for so many of today’s students,” said Marianne Green, MD, the Raymond H. Curry, MD, Professor of Medical Education and vice dean for Education. “The Prokops are only growing their already impressive legacy by alleviating the debt burden of future Feinberg graduates. We are immensely grateful for their scholarship support.”

A MATCH MADE IN MEDICAL SCHOOL

It was during Prokop’s third year of medical school, backstage at a play in Thorne Hall in 1955, that he met Adrienne Vollmer, ’58 BSN, a talented nursing student at Wesley Hospital — now Northwestern Medicine. She was taking additional classes at Northwestern University to obtain her Bachelor of Science in nursing degree. Their shared experiences at Northwestern blossomed into a lifelong partnership, and they wed in 1958.

Prokop went on to complete his medical residency in ophthalmology at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, while Adrienne became a head nurse in surgery. After Brad’s military service during the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Prokops relocated to Topeka, Kansas, where Prokop launched a successful ophthalmology practice. Here, the Prokops established the first ambulatory surgery center devoted to eye surgery in the state. Adrienne served as president of the center and as executive administrator of the practice, which the Prokops ran for 32 years while growing their family and raising their children.

In total, the family has 10 degrees from Northwestern. The Prokops’ connection to Northwestern deepened as their children and grandchildren attended the University. Their eldest daughter attended the medical school, where she met and married her husband, and went on to become a distinguished professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. The Prokops’ son, meanwhile, went on to attend the law school, where he met and married his wife. Their second daughter obtained her Master of Arts degree in counseling from Northwestern.

Their generational legacy doesn’t stop there.

“Adrienne and I are very proud of our granddaughter Claire Pregler who graduated from Northwestern in 2021. Our granddaughter Lily Prokop is now a sophomore studying neuroscience at Northwestern,” Prokop said. Brad and Adrienne Prokop have supported the University for decades, giving to the MD Class of 1957 Scholarship Fund, athletics, and other academic areas. They are members of the Henry and Emma Rogers Society, the Wilson Society, and The Founders Society. They currently reside in Fort Myers, Florida.

This story was published in the March 2025 issue of The Philanthropist.