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“НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, БЕРЕЗЕНЬ 2014 WWW. UNWLA.ORG 23 LESSONS IN LOCAL LEADERSHIP: An Interview with Nadia Rajsz, President of UNWLA Branch 62 and Town of Lumberland, NY, Supervisor by Olesia Wallo Pani Nadiu, could you briefly trace your path to your current position as UNWLA Branch 62 President? What has motivated your increasingly greater involvement in this organization? As a first -generation Ukrainian (both of my parents are from Ukraine), I have always maintained my ethnic roots, promoted Ukrainian culture, and was involved in Ukrainian organiz a- tions, although certainly not always in leadership positions. I belonged to Plast and the Ukrainian Saturday school in Jersey City, where I was born and raised. As I moved from Jersey City to Glen Spey, NY , with my husban d Michael in 1983, where at the time there lived a significa nt number of Ukrainian families , I continued my involve- ment in Ukrainian organizations . For instance, I supported St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Catholic Church and Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Glen Spey and became involved in cultural a c- tivities at Ver khovyna and the Ukrainian Amer i- can Cultural Foundation, serving on the ir board. During the first few years after my move to Glen Spey, I was less active in the community because at the time I was pursuing a Master’s d e- gree, raising our two daughters, Deanna and N a- talie, and working in the laboratory as a Medical Technologist. I eventually became the Chief Me d- ical Technologist of the laboratory at Arden Hill Hospital and continue to work in my field as a Per Diem tech at Orange Regional Medical Center — the first new hospital built in the state of New York in 25 years. I also teach Laboratory Techno l- ogy at Orange County Community College and hold the position of Associate Professor. I have been teaching in this field since 1987. As a Ukrainian American, I was aware that local UNWLA Branch 62 in Glen Spey was looking for members, and I said to myself, “Why not? I am Ukrainian and like to promote Ukrain i- an culture and traditions.” In addition, I agre ed with and respected the UNWLA’s humanitarian efforts in supporting and helping Ukrainians, e s- pecially women, here and in Ukraine. Within a few years of joining Branch 62, I became Branch President — a position which I hold to this day. In my leadership role, I bring Nadia Rajsz awareness to the American community about Ukrainian issues. For example, a few years ago I organized a discussion at Orange County Co m- munity College in Middletown, New York, with Professor Leonid Rudnytzky as the key speaker on the topic of the Holodomor. Over the years, our members have also organized various displays regarding the Holodomor and Chornobyl. We r e- cently displayed the Holodomor exhibit at the Lumberland Town Hall Senior Center and we are planning to take this exhibit to the Government Center in Monticello, NY, the Sullivan County Community College, the Orange County Commu- nity College as well as our local high school. Fu r- thermore, our branch sponsors a scholarship competition for graduating high school seniors to write an essay either on the Holodomor or Chornobyl. Through such efforts, we continue to convey to the larger community issues of i m- portance regarding Ukrainians and Ukraine — the fact that despite these tragedies, we continue to exist as a nation. What are the greatest joys and challenges of being a Branch President? One challenge is our aging population; unfortunately, we do not have many younger adults among our membership. Several members are in their eighties and nineties, and others are in their fifties and sixties. The latter are the ones who carry most of the workload. I am very grat e- ful to the few that do so much. Although all of our members help and get involved with our various functions, I am extremely grateful to those wo m- en who do more t ha n their share when necessary. I am making a concerted effort to hold membership drives in order to sign up younger members, and my focus will be on bringing in s e- cond-generation Ukrainians. Recently my daug h- ter Deanna, who is a second-generation Ukrain i- an , did sign up, and eventually her sister Natalie will follow. Having these young members will bring diversity and likely new ideas to the group. I
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