Veronika Hoskova?s three-week vacation from the Czech Republic to Michigan in the Summer of 1999 ended up turning into a five-year stay when an athletics scout spotted her playing volleyball and made her an offer she just couldn?t refuse.
While Hoskova was visiting a friend who lived in Michigan, they decided to enter a beach volleyball tournament at Lake Michigan. Impressed with her skills, a college recruiting scout offered her a scholarship to Lansing Community College in Lansing, Mich. Hoskova accepted, deciding to stay in the States to pursue a college education.
After a year at Lansing Community College, Hoskova decided to seek opportunities at other schools, and that?s when UCA came knocking. Former UCA Volleyball Coach Shelley Coppelman found out about Hoskova?s skills and offered her a scholarship to play volleyball. ?I flew down to visit in April of 2000 and I fell in love with the school,? Hoskova said.
Hoskova?s time at UCA hasn?t been easy. In addition to her rigorous volleyball schedule, she frequently carried more than 18 hours a semester and worked on campus to support herself through college. She also coached a junior volleyball club, the Conway Spirits, and tutored mathematics and computer science at the UCA Peer Assisted Tutoring Center for three of her four years at UCA.
Hoskova will graduate Magna Cum Laude with honors in May, earning a degree in computer science with a minor in mathematics. ?I would have liked to have done something artistic, like photography, but the equipment for the classes was too expensive. I ended up in computer science and mathematics because I had a strong background in them,? she said.
As an international student, Hoskova could only work 20 hours per week as a student-worker on campus, where jobs typically pay around minimum wage. Keeping up with bills was difficult, especially when breaks from school led to fewer work hours. ?It would have been nice to have the money to buy a Coke anytime I wanted or go to the movies for fun. I didn?t have the ability to do that and I always hoped that in the future I would be able to eventually help other students who had the same sort of difficulty as I did,? Hoskova said.
Thanks to longtime friend, Micah Brown, she is now able to help other students sooner than she expected. Brown has helped set up a financial award in her name that will provide assistance to students from the Czech Republic.
Brown, a certified financial planner, said he was inspired to set up the fund after learning about Hoskova?s struggles. ?She once told me that as a freshman in Michigan she was invited to join an honor society but didn?t have the small fee required to join. She also wasn?t able to participate as much in the local community because she was so busy playing volleyball and working all of the time. This made it almost impossible to compete for honors such as ?Who?s Who? with students who didn?t have to work and could devote more time to extra curricular activities such as student government and community service,? Brown said. ?She had everything it took to go to school but the money.?
?Micah called this the ?Spirit Award? because he admired all the hard work I put into school and the fact that I never quit. I will do anything I can to make my education happen. When times get tough, you can?t quit. I?m proof that you can make it,? Hoskova said.
Brown pointed out that the award was ?win-win? for everybody involved. ?It gives money to those who are involved in college life and need funds, while also help bringing the best and the brightest students from the Czech Republic to UCA,? he said. ?Because it is an award, it should not impact any other scholarships, grants, or loans the awards recipient or recipients earn, so it truly functions as a supplement.?
The first donations haves been made to the fund and will allow the student who wins the award to receive $500 each semester. If no Czech student applies to UCA next fall, the award will accumulate interest in the bank so that more money will be available when a student does qualify.
Hoskova and Brown hope that the award will continue to grow and eventually help more students. She plans on telling newspapers back home about the award so that more students will attend UCA and apply for it. ?I want to bring more students from the Czech Republic to UCA. It?s been a great experience for me and I want other to have that,? Hoskova said.
Tax-deductible donations to the fund may be made to the UCA Foundation by mailing a check payable to the UCA Foundation Inc., UCA Box 4986, Conway, AR 72035. “Veronika Hoskova Spirit Award” should be denoted in the memo line of the check.
-Jessica Saylor
