Diploma awarding ceremony at the Rákóczi College
The Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education held its diploma awarding ceremony on June 28th. The event took place at the Reformed Church in Beregszász. This year, a total of 187 students completed their undergraduate studies. 3 graduate students were awarded with distinction.
The ceremony began with the entry of historical flags, followed by a welcome speech from János Margitics, pastor of the Beregszász Reformed Church. This was followed by our national prayer and the hymn of Rákóczi College.
In his annual speech, István Csernicskó, the rector of Rákóczi College, highlighted that while the 2020 academic year began with 939 students, the 2023-2024 academic year began with 1 371 students, reflecting a growth of over 30%.
“The Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education’s social embeddedness, role and impact in Transcarpathia, the Beregszász district, and the city of Beregszász is unquestionable. The college is a key educational, scientific, cultural and sports center,”
he emphasized.
Our achievements have also been recognized in national and international university rankings. In 2023, our college ranked 211th among higher education institutions in Ukraine, compared to 21 places lower in 2022. In the “TOP-200 Ukraine 2024” ranking, we advanced to the 155th position, a jump of 30 places from 2023. In the Webometrics ranking, which lists over 31 000 higher education institutions worldwide, we moved up over 1 700 places from our 2022 position to 2023.
He added that based on our collective achievements and objective metrics, it is clear that by the summer of 2024, the Ferenc Rakoczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education is professionally ready to transition to university status.
“It is up to us whether we take this step,”
the rector added.
István Csernicskó alongside internationally recognized scientific achievements also spoke about institutional successes: the first diploma awarding ceremony in our institution’s history took place on June 20, 2001, with the first diploma awarded to Diána Ábrány, a teacher training student. The 500th diploma was awarded to Renáta Gécse, a pre-school education student, in 2008. The 1 000th college diploma was issued in 2009 to Orsolya Olasz, who graduated with a diploma in geography. To date, we have awarded a total of 3 830 higher education diplomas to 2 473 individuals. Today, the 4 000th diploma in our college’s history will be awarded to Anett Szabó, an English major. The 2 500th person to receive a diploma from us is Kincső Anna Berghauer, a tourism major, whose mother and father became a couple here at the college, as they both graduated in 2003. The Berghauer couple’s story is not unique. According to Zsuzsanna Buda, head of our Career Tracking Department, about 200 young people have found their partners at our college, leading to over 100 marriages among former students.
“Behind the statistics, numbers and data are people, faces and stories. The results we have discussed are the fruit of many people’s hard work. I thank my colleagues for their contributions to our success and our students for honoring us with their trust by choosing us,”
concluded the rector.
Miklós Panyi, Deputy Minister, Minister of State for Parliamentary and Strategic Affairs at the Prime Minister’s Office, greeted those parents and fathers who could not be present due to the war.
“The most important message today is one of hope: a stubborn faith in survival, renewal, the strength of the community and a prosperous future. Moreover, it is about commitment, social contract and national mission,”
he emphasized.
He added that despite the ongoing two-and-a-half-year war, the fact that the Rákóczi College, the most important bastion of the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia, operates with a nearly pre-war enrollment of close to 2 000 students, with high quality and a rich variety of programs, is due not only to the tireless, determined and persistent leaders of the college but also to the decisions of hundreds, thousands of young people who have chosen Transcarpathian education and life despite recent adversities.
Following this, on behalf of the graduating students, Ádám Temető, a full-time mathematics major, expressed his gratitude. The students then took their oath, led by Melánia Orosz, a full-time history major.
After a general overview of the diplomas, the graduates received their well-deserved certificates from Ildikó Orosz, president of Rákóczi College and István Csernicskó, followed by the student anthem.
In her speech, Ildikó Orosz highlighted six components of lasting success for the students: information, intuition, initiative, determination, intensity and integrity. She also shared survival advice from Father Placid: “Suffering should not be dramatized; joy is necessary for survival; we are not perfect, but we must show here and now that we are different; and finally, those with something to hold on to it is easier.”
She concluded her speech with words from Winston Churchill:
“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
At the end of the event, representatives of the historic churches asked for God’s blessing on the lives of those present. The ceremony ended with the singing of the Szózat.
Anita Kurmay
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