Marosvásárhely, Romania – Hungarian American Coalition President Andrea Lauer Rice and Zsolt Szekeres, newly appointed President of the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation (HHRF), traveled to the Transylvanian region of Romania on May 29-31 to meet with officials and with alumni of the Coalition’s internship program.
In Kolozsvár, Mrs. Lauer Rice and Mr. Szekeres met with community leaders: Béla Kató, Bishop of the Transylvanian district of the Reformed Church in Romania; Hunor Kelemen, President of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania – RMDSZ; Bálint Porcsalmi, Executive Director of RMDSZ; and Anna Horváth, former deputy mayor of Kolozsvár.
On May 30, they met with Árpád Zsolt Moldován, head of HHRF’s Kolozsvár office; Sarah Agronow, a ReConnect Transylvania intern; and Robert and Anikó Schwartz, managers of HHRF’s property in Kolozsvár.
The same day, Mrs. Lauer Rice and Mr. Szekeres gave live interviews on Radio Kolozsvár and on the television program ‘Erdélyi Figyelő’. They also met with Sarolta Borzási, a former Coalition intern, who is currently program manager at Global Entrepreneurship Network.
On May 31, Mrs. Lauer Rice spoke in Hungarian at the graduation ceremony of the Bolyai Farkas High School in Marosvásárhely, presenting the “Hungarian American Coalition Award” to three students recognized for their outstanding academic achievement and community service. Totaling $2000, the awards were presented this year for the first time. The inaugural recipients: graduating seniors Daniel Ferencz and Matyas Horvath-Kovacs, and freshman Anita Kiss.
Andrea Lauer Rice and Zsolt Szekeres with the Bolyai Farkas High School awardees Mátyás Horváth-Kovács, Anita Kiss and Dániel Ferencz
Speaking before a crowd of 2,000 students, teachers, and family members, Mrs. Lauer Rice emphasized the importance of the Coalition’s educational programs, such as the Bolyai award, which builds upon this historic high school’s outstanding educational legacy.
Following the ceremony, a small reception was held for the awardees, their family members, school administration and Coalition representatives.