Skalny Scholarships Awarded

Christopher Krupa attends Wayne State University (WSU), Detroit MI with majors in Business Administration and Slavic Studies with a concentration in Polish. The University has awarded him with Slavic Scholarships for 2006 and 2007, Slavic Studies Book Award for Excellence in 2005, the Norris & Vivilore Hitchman Scholarship in 2007, and an Undergraduate Research Grant in 2007.

The Friends of Polish Art, an ACPC Affiliate, also awarded a scholarship to Christopher in 2006, and the WSU Alumni Assoc. awarded the David Adamany Endowed Scholarship last year. In addition to his intensive studies schedule, Christopher has managed to be heavily involved over the past couple of years in the mainstream community: President & Treasurer, WSU Slavic Club, and Student Representative on the Faculty Promotion & Tenure Committee. He is also serving as an Intern/Staff Researcher for The Piast Institute of Hamtramck MI., the largest North American think tank devoted to Polish affairs and designated as a U.S. Census Information Center. Christopher is especially proud of his accomplishments as president of the WSU Slavic Club as, e.g., when he planned the annual “Wigilia” fundraising dinner for Slavic scholarships, with scholarly presentations and entertainment that netted over $1,000, a record for the Club.

Zach Mazur (no photo available) is a sophomore at the University of Rochester, NY. He has been studying the Polish language through regular courses as well as Independent Study and also completed a course on the History of Poland. A visiting professor from Poland who conducted the latter course praises Zach’s keen interest in Polish history and rated his final exam paper on the relations between state and the Roman Catholic church in Poland very highly. Zach is credited with resurrecting the Polish club on the University’s campus. With the help of a few other students, he reorganized the club during his first year at the school and was elected its president. The new group successfully sought to expand the organization by including all students of Slavic origin, and named the new group “Slavic Club.” They quickly attracted some 15 students, and organized an outdoor event, featuring movie screenings, dances and Polish music, in which about 50 students participated. Zach has also been involved with the Skalny Center for Polish & Central European Studies at the University by attending the Center’s frequent concerts, lectures and Polish language luncheons. In addition to Polish, Zach has also been studying Spanish, French, Italian, Latin and Russian. He will be spending the next six months in Poland attending the Jagiellonian University to strengthen his Polish language skills.

Dominik Andrzej Stecula, born in Poland, is working toward a degree in Political Science & History at the University of Michigan at Dearborn. He has made the Dean’s List every semester and currently carries a 3.97 GPA in his Senior year. At the University’s annual Quiz Bowl, Dominik has been the Champion for two consecutive years and represented the school at the Mid-Western Regional Championships. He initiated a soccer program at the university, which is on its way to becoming a varsity sport. The Piast Institute appreciates his considerable research skills, as he is responsible for its Census Information Center. His 51-page research paper “Polonia Report: Report on the Polish Population in the U.S.” received national attention from the Polonia media and was featured by the U.S. Census Bureau at its annual national meeting of data centers last fall in Washington, D.C. The Institute reports that Stecula “…has produced studies that are helping Polonia institutions all over the U.S.” Since the University does not offer Polish Studies degrees, he overcame that obstacle by setting up an independent study course with Dr. Thaddeus Radzilowski on the History of Polish Americans. Dominik has also been serving as a research assistant to Prof. A. Trevor Thrall and is helping him with an article on “Missile Shield”. Personal primary goals for Dominik are obtaining a PhD in political science and becoming a college professor where he could continue his research concerning Poland and help to overcome misconceptions and false images in America of Poland and its people. The Piast Institute recently held a fundraiser to help cover some of the costs for Dominik as he is one of the few chosen out of hundreds of applicants to attend the summer program of the Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research on Quantitative Methods of Social Research to be held at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

For information about the Skalny Scholarships for Polish Studies and other scholarships and cultural programs of the American Council for Polish Culture, please visit