The two winners of the 11th Annual Brig. Gen. Casimir Pulaski Scholarships for Advanced Studies administered by the American Council for Polish Culture (ACPC) were announced recently by Mr. Marion V. Winters, MA, Chairman. Serving with him on the Committee are Mrs. Anna-Mae Maglaty, MS Ed; Mrs. Deborah M. Majka, MS; Mrs. Carolyn Meleski, MS; and Mr. Peter Obst, MA. The Committee awarded $5,000 scholarships to Ms. Lisamarie Gora of Colonia, NJ and to Ms. Beata Hrynkiewicz of Wethersfield, CT.
Ms. Gora’s many honors include obtaining a Cum Laude degree from Rutgers Univ., membership in Phi Betta Kappa Honorary Society, and Honorary Student Co-Chair of the NY County Lawyer’s Assoc. In 2006, Lisamarie was the recipient of the Louis & Nellie Skalny Scholarship for Polish Studies, which is administered by the ACPC. In the summer of that same year, she undertook extensive study of the Spanish language in Peru where she also served as a volunteer daily nurse at a hospital for mentally impaired children. That same year she was also selected as Ms. Polonia to represent the Polish community of Clark, NJ at the Polish Cultural Fdn. also in the annual Pulaski Day Parade held in Manhattan, NY.
Lisamarie’s mentor Prof. Diane Fazzolari, Esq. at the NY Law School wrote that Ms. Gora distinguished herself from the other students as dedicated, hard working and extremely intelligent. The Professor added that actually she was the only student in her class to receive an “A”.
The ACPC Scholarship Committee was very impressed with Ms. Gora’s extensive community services. After 11 years of arduous work and fervent dedication, Lisamarie achieved the highest rank “Eagle Scout” in Harcerstwo at the Polish Cultural Center in Clark, NJ where she has played very important roles throughout each year. She helped organize Polonia fund raisers, donated food and clothing to the Battered Women Shelter and portions of fund raiser drives to the Polish Children’s Heart-Line. She helped the Adam A. Bak Fdn. organize events at the Polish Consulate that raised nearly $100,000 for those suffering from the floods in Poland. Some of her other extensive community involvements included serving as the Public Relations agent to gain awareness of the North Town Hall Civic Center within the Polish communities through the Polonia media; active membership in the PolAm Business & Professional Assoc.; and assistant to kindergarten teacher at the Saturday Polish School in Clark, NJ.
Andrew Bak, V.P. Adamba Imports Intl., writes that Ms. Gora is an indispensable part of every team she is a part of, especially the Polish causes in which she has actively participated in since she was a little girl. “She exhibits a passion to use her legal skills to benefit the Polish community.
Ms. Hrynkiewicz’s considerable work experience in her specialty field includes serving as a Patient Service Specialist since June 2010 in Physical Therapy, Storrs, CT, which includes training new employees and teaching aquatic classes. She has also been serving there as a Rehabilitation Technician since 2007. She has proven her leadership skills by founding and organizing the DPT 2012 Journal Club last year.
Prof. Joseph W. Smey, PT, EdD writes that “Beata’s strong work ethic, communication skills and her compassionate nature in dealing with others have unquestionably contributed to her success in the classroom, clinical setting, and her ability to be a positive ambassador for our institution”. He adds that he has received only the most positive comments about Beata’s professionalism and competence from both the management at Select Physical Therapy as well as from his faculty colleagues in the Physical Therapy Program.
The Regional Director at Select Medical Corp., David A. Hoyle who has known Beata for five years concludes his highly positive statements regarding Beata’s outstanding work as a Rehabilitation Technician in his letter of recommendation with the statement that “I’m certain that you have a significant number of deserving applicants for scholarships who have great interpersonal skills, or who represent their Polish culture well, or who have outstanding academic records, or who contributed to the workforce, but I would be hard pressed to believe that there is another applicant who has excelled at so many of these things as Beata Hrynkiewicz.”
Beata’s community involvement includes active membership in the UConn Polish Cultural Society, volunteer services with the Polish Cultural Club of Greater Hartford in setting up the Annual Szopka Festival; Troop Leader, Camp Director & Activities Coordinator in the Polish Scouting Organization; President of the UConn Polish Cultural Society, participant in the Miss Polonia Connecticut Competition, and Preschool Program Coordinator in the UConn Husky Nutritions Program in 2006.
The Pulaski Scholarship Committee members were also very impressed by the commitments both students promised in their future careers. Beata Hrynkiewicz pledged that in providing physical therapy services in the central CT region, she will strive to assist Polish-speaking patients – a service that is currently an unmet need. Lisamarie Gora promised to contribute time, efforts and her lawyerly skills to the ACPC organization and also to push herself even harder now to get to a position where one day she will be able to share her success with others so that, in a sense, she will uphold the “expectation” that accompanies such an honor as the Pulaski Scholarship, an expectation to continue working hard and staying involved.