10 November 2023
News
8 January 2024
Annual meeting of Scholarship Recipients and Mentors of the Rafał Brzoska Foundation was a blast!
For the second time, the New Year’s meeting of Rafał Brzoska Foundation scholarship recipients took place at Villa Intrata in Warsaw’s Wilanów. This time, the hosts of the event, Foundation President Rafał Brzoska and Foundation Vice President Omenaa Mensah, planned it in a networking scheme.
“We are proud that such wonderful young people are part of the Rafał Brzoska Foundation community, and we can contribute to their education. We are delighted with their achievements and academic successes, which inspire us to take further educational actions. That’s what it’s all about for all of us – combining education with helping,” added Omenaa Mensah, Vice President of Rafał Brzoska Foundation.
Omenaa Mensah and Rafał Brzoska have announced a special competition for the beneficiaries of the foundation. They divided the scholarship recipients from the first and second editions of the fund into groups. Highly talented youth faced a significant challenge – as part of the BUDDY competition, they will have to create educational, artistic, or motivational workshop programs intended for the wards of Polish orphanages and care-educational centers, RiO Edu Center, Rio Vibe Center, as well as street children from Ghana. The joint task was not only a real brainstorm but also a perfect opportunity to exchange experiences and establish new relationships and friendships.
“In the professional environment, ‘Buddy’ is a term referring to a colleague who helps a new employee in the process of adaptation, getting acquainted with the company, its organizational culture, values, and customs. Such a person is not only a support but also a mentor. We have set the same task for our scholarship recipients from both editions. Looking at the way they worked together on this project, talked, shared knowledge and experience, I am only more convinced that I have exceptionally talented and empathetic youth on board of the Rafał Brzoska Foundation. Having so many ‘Buddies’ in our group is a true blessing,” says Rafał Brzoska, the President of the Rafał Brzoska Foundation.
In the second part of the meeting, a panel discussion on “Future Megatrends” was held, moderated by Dr. Tomasz Rożek, a member of the Rafał Brzoska Foundation’s Mentoring Board.
“A special guest of the debate was Rafał Brzoska, who talked about business megatrends and plans for 2024. Selected scholarship recipients also had their say: Julia Stankiewicz – a student of Space Engineering at the Technical University in Munich, Michał Wyrębkowski – a student at Yale and Wharton School of Management, Kornelia Bartoszewicz – a researcher of Alzheimer’s disease in the Department of Psychiatry at Cambridge University, and Antonia Pawlak – a vocalist and pianist, studying at CalArts, one of the best artistic universities in the world,” says Katarzyna Alińska, Managing Director of the Rafał Brzoska Foundation and Omenaa Foundation.
During the ceremony, Rafał Brzoska and Omenaa Mensah not only summarized the first year of Rafał Brzoska Foundation’s activities but also talked about the challenges awaiting them in the near future. The event was concluded with a visit by scholarship recipients and guests to the Residence of the U.S. Ambassador, Mark Brzeziński, which has become a New Year’s tradition for the foundation’s community.
“I’m delighted that I could host such talented young people from the Rafał Brzoska Foundation for the second time. Our meetings have become an unwritten tradition! I’m filled with pride when I look at the achievements of such talented individuals. May this community grow, and the Rafał Brzoska Foundation Scholarship Fund be a guiding light for the next generations of young talents,” said Mark Brzezinski, U.S. Ambassador to Poland.
