StudentAid: Student Relief Fund

Dear Friends, Dear Supporters of the Pro Akademika Foundation,

Several months have passed since our last news. What has happened recently at the Pro Akademika Foundation?

Certainly, the most important information is that we have chosen the next scholarship holders! In March, we announced the competition for Creative Scholarships. These scholarships are aimed at ambitious and committed individuals who excel in both scientific achievements and artistic or social activities. The scholarship aims to help laureates in continuing their current activities and furthering their scientific or professional plans.

This year the Creative Scholarships were awarded to*:

Emilia Kaczmarek - student of Public Life at the SWPS University, for her scientific activity combined with long-term commitment to promoting social and civic activity,

Malgorzata Polakowska - student of Psychology at the SWPS University, for skillful use of experience from long-term theatrical activity in scientific and social activity,

Michal Skorupski - PhD student of Psychology at the SWPS University, for his lasting commitment to popularizing science and for many years of activity for the academic community.

Through our reports, we would like to help you get to know our scholarship holders. Therefore, we give the floor to one of them - Malgorzata Polakowska:

I am a final year psychology student at the SWPS University. This is already the third major I have taken, which testifies to my unceasing passion for discovering man and deepening knowledge about him. My educational adventure began with cultural studies, where I had the opportunity to develop my research-anthropological flair. Then I went to the South Baltic Independent Theatre Academy, which not only taught me acting, but above all showed how to use theatre to have a real impact on the community. This experience became the foundation of my life plan - to use theatre to develop empathy and promote social change.

Based on my own experience, I have realized how powerful a tool for transformation theatre can be, and also how significant an impact it can have on the lives of those who participate in it. My work focuses primarily on people whose voice rarely reaches a wider audience and aims to help them regain a sense of their own worth and dignity. Following this path, psychology became the next natural step for me. It is the key to understanding both individual stories and broader social and cultural processes that shape our lives. And so for 10 years I have been consistently realizing my dream to "change the world with theatre". However, like all people of great faith, I too - had crises. Perfectionism and the inability to say no, combined with a sense of mission and the desire to work for a higher cause, can lead to over-exploitation and exhaustion. Fortunately, I have not lost faith in the sense of what I do. Today, thanks to the Scholarship, I feel that I can continue my activities in a new role - with relief and distance, equipped with new knowledge. This support has given me wind in my wings and strengthened my belief that the path I have chosen is the right one. This distinction motivates me to continue my activities and confirms that my efforts and initiative make sense.

I believe that changing the world requires commitment and risk-taking at both the individual and social levels. In both fields, both as an artist and a future psychologist, I see my responsibility to act for social change. Thanks to tools from the fields of art and psychology, I feel a huge potential to effectively implement positive social changes and support personal transformations.

*names used with permission

Polish translation below.

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Pro Akademika Foundation!

In the past few months, as always, we have been busy at the Pro Akademika Foundation, but we have also celebrated a few successes.

Our scholarship holder, Mr. Jakub Mroz, was awarded the Prof. Roman Czernecki Prize for the best specialized article in the field of education. The Prof. Roman Czernecki Prize is awarded by the EFC Foundation. It is the only distinction in Poland for authors of works in the field of education. The awarded scientists, practitioners, and journalists identify the challenges faced by modern schools and, like the patron of the Prize, Roman Czernecki, propose solutions that help address these problems. Through their publications, they contribute to deepening the debate on education.

Mrs. Jolanta Czarnecka, also a scholarship holder of our Foundation, was accepted to the SPSP Convention - one of the most important in her research area, and on February 8-10, she spoke in San Diego! The Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), founded in 1974, is the world’s largest organization of personality and social psychologists. SPSP strives to advance the science, teaching, and application of personality and social psychology. The Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Annual Convention is the premier international event for social and personality psychologists. Attendees from academia, non-profits, government, and private sectors present and discuss research, network and collaborate on projects, and pursue professional development while advancing science and pedagogy in the field.

We are continuing our talks with potential sponsors to support our project "Student Relief Fund". We are in touch with sixteen more companies. Since the beginning of February, we have also intensified promotional activities related to the possibility for Polish taxpayers to donate 1.5% of their income tax for the year 2023 to our Foundation and our project. We will know the results of these efforts in October. Keep your fingers crossed! 

Thank you for being with us!

......................................................................................................

Drodzy Przyjaciele i Przyjaciolki Fundacji Pro Akademika! Drodzy Wspierajacy!

W Fundacji Pro Akademika ostatnie miesiace jak zwykle byly pelne pracy, ale swietowalismy tez kilka sukcesów.

Stypendysta naszej Fundacji – pan Jakub Mroz, zostal laureatem Nagrody im. prof. Romana Czerneckiego za najlepszy artykul specjalistyczny w dziedzinie edukacji. Nagroda im. prof. Romana Czerneckiego jest przyznawana przez Fundacje EFC. To jedyne w Polsce wyroznienie dla autorów i autorek prac z obszaru edukacji. Nagradzani naukowcy i naukowczynie, praktycy i praktyczki, publicysci i publicystki wskazuja w nich wyzwania, z którymi mierzy sie wspolczesna szkola oraz – podobnie jak patron Nagrody Roman Czernecki – proponuja rozwiazania, które pomagaja odpowiedziec na te problemy. Poprzez swoje publikacje przyczyniaja sie do poglebienia debaty o edukacji.

Pani Jolanta Czarnecka – równiez stypendystka naszej Fundacji, zostala przyjeta na Konwencje SPSP - jedna z najwazniejszych w jej obszarze badawczym i w dniach 8-10 lutego wystapila w San Diego! The Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) to spolecznosc naukowa powstala w 1974 roku skupiajaca psychologów i psycholozki osobowosci i spolecznych. Jej celem jest promowanie badan naukowych nad tym, jak ludzie mysla, zachowuja sie i wchodza w interakcje. To najwieksza organizacja psychologów i psycholozek spolecznych i osobowosciowych na swiecie. Co roku SPSP organizuje konwencje, która przyciaga tysiace uczestników i uczestniczek. Wsród nich znajduja sie studenci i studentki oraz psychologowie i psycholozki. Podczas tego wydarzenia uczestnicy i uczestniczki dziela sie wynikami swoich badan oraz maja mozliwosc rozwiniecia umiejetnosci zawodowych.

Kontynuujemy rozmowy z potencjalnymi sponsorami, by wsparli nasz projekt „Student Relief Fund – Studencki Fundusz Wsparcia”. Jestesmy w kontakcie z kolejnymi szesnastoma firmami. Od poczatku lutego intensyfikujemy równiez dzialania promocyjne w zwiazku z mozliwoscia przekazania przez polskich podatników 1,5% podatku dochodowego za 2023 rok na rzecz naszej Fundacji i naszego projektu. O efekcie tych prac dowiemy sie w pazdzierniku. Trzymajcie za nas kciuki! 

Dziekuje, ze z nami jestescie!

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