My name is Ewa Mooney, and in January 2016, I was lucky enough to receive a Copernicus Tuition Grant to help me take a 300-level Polish class during the winter semester. I am a graduating senior majoring in Classics and English, and this grant allowed me to continue working on my Polish language skills, an interest very much outside my normal course of study. Although I grew up in a Polish speaking household, I became very rusty and knew that I would have to study Polish in order to reclaim any kind of fluency. At the beginning of this semester, I was facing a dilemma: I wanted very much to continue with my Polish studies, but as an out-of-state student, the tuition increase from adding my Polish class to an already full plate of classes was prohibitive.

By receiving the Copernicus Tuition Grant, it was possible for me to continue with my study of Polish. I am very grateful to receive this grant and particularly to keep working with the wonderful Pani Ewa Pasek. My classroom experience, supported by textbook reading and conversation and enriched by videos, the news, and supplemental material, has been rewarding as well as fun. Last semester the theme of our class was poetry; this semester, the college experience; it has been a lovely way to wrap up my own college experience!

Copernicus Program in Polish Studies Scholarship for Polish Language Studies

The U-M Copernicus Program in Polish Studies and the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures are offering undergraduate scholarships of $1,000 for Polish language study at U-M for the 2016-17 academic year. For application and full details, visit the Polish major/minor page.