Opening of the academic year at the Rákóczi College’s Vocational High School
On September 1st, the Ferenc Rákóczi II Transcarpathian Hungarian College of Higher Education’s Vocational High School held an opening ceremony at the Roman Catholic Church in Beregszász.
Following tradition, the event took place within the frame of an ecumenical service. The sermon was delivered by István Rácz, the parish priest of the Roman Catholic Parish of Bene, Ferenc Taracközi, the senior pastor of the Reformed Parish of Beregszász and István Marosi, Greek Catholic parish priest, pastor of the college’s chaplaincy.
After the recitation of our national prayer and the college anthem, István Csernicskó, the college’s rector, greeted the students and teachers.
“In today’s world, if you have a good smartphone and a stable internet connection, you can Google almost any information very quickly. But if you can’t think independently and analytically, you can gather a sea of information and get nowhere. So my wish for you is that when you sit down at your desk in school, you not only try to remember the information you hear, but also think about it. Think about how you can organize this information and make use of it. Critical thinking is an important quality that you can practice here in the years to come,”
he stressed.
In her speech, Katalin Soós, the director of the Vocational High School, likened the institution’s, the students’ and the parents’ vision for the future to a labyrinth.
“Today, here in the labyrinth of life, we are opening a new door and a new path for 111 first-year students. We hope that this opportunity will lead them into a fruitful future,”
she said.
József Barta, vice-president of the KMKSZ and representative of the Transcarpathian County Council, also welcomed the guests.
“We live in a difficult and complicated world, in which we cannot see the future and we do not always know where we are going. In this situation, the strategic goal of the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association is to promote the survival of the Hungarian people and community in the homeland. You are a great help in this process”
he said, wishing a successful school year.
Following this, Patrícia Gleba, a second-year student majoring in preschool education, recited a poem titled “Új tanév – új évad” by Judit Bártfai. After taking their oath, Ildikó Orosz, the president of the Rákóczi College, along with István Csernicskó and Katalin Soós, greeted the first-year students with a handshake. Then, the choir, led by Erzsébet Kokas, performed the song “Hallelujah.”
After their performance, president Ildikó Orosz encouraged the students with the words of Father Placid Olofsson:
“I now place Father Placid’s survival advice in your hearts – First, let us not dramatize suffering, because that will only make us weaker. Do not complain, for it weakens a person. Second, always look for life’s small joys. Therefore, notice and consciously seek life’s small joys every day. Third, don’t think that you are different than others, but in certain situations show that this is the case. This mobilizes life energies. And the fourth is that it’s easier for those who have something to hold on to. We believers, if we cling to God, we find that he wants us to survive”.
Finally, the representatives of the historic churches asked for God’s blessing on the lives and work of those present.
The ceremony ended with the singing of the Szózat.
Anita Kurmay
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