2024 Scholarship Recipients
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ALEXANDRA BODNARCHUK
I am a Carpatho Rusyn (CR) American choreographer. This
year I am launching my dance company, Doma Dance Theater as a vehicle for my choreography and place of fostering community around Carpatho Rusyn cultural practice. I am interested in studying Slovak to become a fluent speaker to enable me to be more autonomous in my research that supports my choreographic works.
MATTHEW BEDNAR
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I started taking weekly online Slovak language lessons March 2023 from the Slovak Academy of Chicago after going to the Slovak Ball in Chicago. Then I took 2 ten-week lessons from Dennis Ragan, and last October, I started studying with Renata Kamenerova at the University of Pittsburg. I have been accepted into their summer study language institute with a trip to Slovakia. My grandmother was like my second mom. Because of her I am trying to learn this language to help connect with my Slovak roots.
ELAINE ANN MEHOLICK KOENIG
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Elaine is a retired elementary/middle school teacher. The great granddaughter of Slovak immigrants who settled in western Pennsylvania and later moved to northwest Ohio. Retirement has given her time to study the Slovak language and work on her family tree. Elaine was able to connect with descendants of her great grandfather (her dad’s mother’s father) and she was able to visit their ancestral village in 2023. She hopes to connect with descendants of her great grandfather (her dad’s father’s father) and visit that ancestral village soon. Elaine has fallen in love with Slovakia and has found a missing piece of her heart.
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I am excited to continue my Slovak studies this summer by participating in the Summer Language Institute for four weeks in Slovakia where I will be immersed in intense study as well as being able to use. Slovak on a daily basis to improve my pronunciation and fluency. I hope to visit my dad’sgrandfather’s village and connect with relatives.
SHANNON ZSIROS
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I am 3rd generation Slovak. My great grandmother and grandmother came to America on the Queen Mary arriving in New York December 8, 1948 and settled in Toledo, Ohio where they joined my great grandfather who arrived a few months prior to find work.
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My goal is to learn Slovak to gain the ability to speak with my family in Slovakia and communicate with the locals. I’d also like to learn more about the culture, history and customs with hopes of one day settling in Slovakia to see where my great grandparents and grandmother lived and experience their way of life.
