Most students are surprised to learn that there is a scholarship that supports students of Lithuanian heritage at ºÚÁÏÍø. In fact, there are a number of these types of scholarships originally funded by various immigrant communities to encourage and support first-generation children in attending college. Arts & Sciences was the home of an ethnic studies program that focused on the Baltic States and other countries that were represented throughout Northeast Ohio. The program ended some years ago, but many of these scholarships are available today, including Lithuania, Latvia, and others.
The current recipient of the Kent Lithuanian Scholarship, Kent State Alena Miskinis, is a senior majoring in Psychology, Music (piano) and English. She also has a perfect 4.0 grade point average and has received many accolades during her college career. Among her many achievements, as a member of the ºÚÁÏÍø Orchestra Alena won the KSU Concert Competition, performing her original work, Translating Music into Words. She is a Design Innovation Fellow, and was also recognized in the Undergraduate Research Symposium for her research on music and language. Miskinis also performs with the highly regarded Lithuanian choir, Exultate, and is fluent in the Lithuanian language.
Dr. Viktoras Stankus, President of the Kent Lithuanian Program Committee, says, “our relationship with ºÚÁÏÍø goes back to 1974, and it has been an outstanding partnership for all of these years. Our students have been enriched by their association and education at Kent state University and have shared their knowledge throughout our communities around the world. We have worked together to build a relationship that will go well into the future.â€