Comments by 2009 AACS Austrian Room Committee Scholarship Awardees

BORYANA DOBREVA

~~~ Miss Boryana Dobreva, a doctoral candidate in the German Department at the University of Pittsburgh, coordinated her work with the prestigious University of Vienna. Boryana's scholarship is in honor of Maestro Honeck.  She wrote the following:

Greetings from Vienna!
Austria’s capital is an amazing and unforgettable city brimming with life, events and attractions. I am enjoying every moment spent in multi-cultural Vienna and am very happy that my Vienna trip has been thus far an extremely productive one. I was able to meet with and interview many interesting people and am looking forward to continuing my research at Vienna’s archives and libraries.
Thank you for your incredible support and for helping me realize this project!
Best regards, Boryana Dobreva - July 10, 2009

Additional comments from Boryana . . .

Boryana Dobreva took advantage of the many oportunities available in Vienna to research her topic of major tendencies in migratory movements from Eastern Europe to Austria and the way these movements are reflected in current literature. She had some advice for future awardees: If your research involves visiting libraries and archives, I would recommend checking online opening hours, catalogues, location, requirements of each specific library and archive. This is especially necessary in the summer, when many of these institutions have shorter operating hours. In addition it is also advisable for each researcher to clarify as to whether he or she needs to have a library card issued. The reading halls in the libraries offer a very pleasant amosphere that contributes to a pleasant reading and working experience...In addition to the valuable materials I collected for my dissertation, my stay in Vienna enriched my experience and knowledge as a scholar in many aspects. I view the professional contacts I established as a promising beginning for future cooperation with writers and scholars and the institutions they represent...Finally I am more confident that my research abroad has contributed to an enhancement of my professional creativity and qualifications..."

KATHLEEN MORIARTY
~~~ Miss Katie Moriarty wrote on her last day in Vienna as a scholarship awardee, describing the opportunities that came with the scholarship.

Dear Robert [Tate],
I'm heading out of Vienna tonight and what a great experiment and experience it has been! I've been able to see and do so much and visit museums, and churches and stay at a monastery, celebrate Austria's large numbers of festivals, fètes, holidays, etc. I look forward to being able to share my pictures and stories with you all. I've been able to improve my German by leaps and bounds!
I'm actually sitting at Cafè Sacher enjoying some "to die for" Sachertorte. I leave in 7 hours, so this may not be my last piece of küche before I head home.
I am indebted to the awesome people, awesome sights, Nationality Room for this great opportunity! Awesome experience!
Vielen Danke, Katie

Additional comments by Kathleen . . .

Kathleen Moriarty didn't "take content courses at a speficic institution. I took a few German for Foreigners night classes at a local language school, which were taught in the evening and were relatively inexpensive. I made some good friends there and improved my German grammar immensely during those courses...Immediate results from my summer experience are definitely within the realm of improved language skills. I would not have been able to stay in German Writing this semester had I not had a linguistic 'boot camp' over the summer. I honed my research skills which will help me with future dissertation research. I also worked on my grant writing skills which got me a foreign language fellowship for this school year...The research project was something I decided on because I am passionate about it and very interested in publishing an article on religious vocations and their role in pop culture in Western Europe...The process of conducting interviews, many new contacts and conducting archival research was of great importance to my growth as an academic, especially as I proceed into my dissertation phase..."