Cincinnati, Ohio, December 19, 2014 – Young women living in Hungary recently gained an entirely new perspective on their future thanks in large part to former Saint Ursula Academy student Anna Orosz. The confidence Anna gained while attending Saint Ursula Academy as an exchange student, along with the exposure to successful women in various career fields typically reserved for men in Hungary, led her to spearhead an ambitious educational program for young ladies in her home country.
Anna’s father, Andras Orosz, recently wrote to Saint Ursula Academy to express his appreciation to the school that encouraged Anna to share her knowledge with other young women. “Anna realized how formerly her teachers never gave her opportunities to grow and they were pessimistic about her ambitions to become a mathematician. They were all men who, sadly, thought of mathematics as a discipline in which only men can be truly talented. Encouraged by the experience that your school’s wholly different attitude has endowed her with, she also wanted to encourage other girls of her age in Hungary.”
Anna believes that the main reason for the shortage of women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) related careers in Hungary is simply a lack of female role models currently employed in these fields. During her time at Saint Ursula Academy, Anna was introduced to many female role models and learned more about the Girls for Science initiative in the U.S. She dreamed of starting a similar program in Hungary that would encourage young women to pursue careers in STEM fields, fields which are currently dominated by men in Hungary. Anna’s dream came true earlier this year as she developed and led a conference entitled “Girls who will become Scientists in the Future” at ELTE University in Budapest, the country’s leading research university.
Said her father, “She invited distinguished scientists and engineers, all women, to talk about their professions and their career paths, give advice to the audience on how they would be able to deal with the difficulties that women encounter in these fields, and primarily, to serve as role model to demonstrate that there are many very successful women in STEM career fields. The conference was a great success, attended by more than 140 students from more than 40 schools.”
Speaking at the conference were women like Anna who had the drive to pursue careers larger than her society expected and encouraged. Attendees heard from a Space Research Team Leader, a molecular biologist researching the role of protein cells and cancer, a developer of Prezi, an IT developer for Morgan-Stanley, and a Biochemical Engineer. Many of the young women of Hungary had never been given the opportunity to hear from career-driven, successful women before this conference. Anna hopes that this conference begins a conversation among young women that will lead to a more educated future for the young women of Hungary.
“I think sometimes our students take for granted the opportunities and experiences they are afforded that empower them to pursue careers in any field they choose, and especially in STEM fields,” said Saint Ursula Academy principal Craig Maliborski. “I am thrilled that our school and its mission are making an impact across the world and empowering more young women to dream about pursuing their interests and dreams by breaking though some of the stereotypes in their own counties.”
Saint Ursula Academy’s mission includes empowering leaders to build a better world, and Anna Orosz has embraced that challenge by sharing her knowledge, insight, and enthusiasm with many young women in Hungary.
To learn more about St. Ursula Academy, please visit www.saintursula.org.
St. Ursula Academy is a Catholic, college-preparatory, secondary school for young women known for academic excellence and rich tradition. St. Ursula welcomes students from more than 70 grade schools in the Greater Cincinnati area. In 2002 the Academy was recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School. The campus, located at 1339 E. McMillan Street in East Walnut Hills has been the home of St. Ursula Academy and Convent since 1910. The Class of 2014 earned college scholarships totaling more than $20-million.
Photo Caption: Mrs. Elisabet Horvath, PhD,
Deputy Dean of ELTE University congratulates Anna Orosz for organizing the “Girls
Who will become Scientists in the Future” Conference
pasting