Zgabay says 'ano, prosim (yes, please)' to Blinn College Czech language classes

Caldwell resident embraces his heritage through online Czech classes and cultural immersion

August 5, 2025

Zach Zgabay wasn’t sure where to channel his desire to learn the Czech language. Then he saw a television segment featuring Dr. Becky Garlick, Executive Dean of the Blinn College-Schulenburg Campus.

“She was giving an interview about the Czech language classes offered by Blinn,” said Zgabay. “My wife and I were watching it, and I said I’d always wanted to do that. I just never knew where.”

Zgabay, a teacher and coach in Dime Box ISD who lives in Caldwell, has since immersed himself in Blinn’s Czech language courses, completing the beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes offered online.

Blinn is one of only two higher education institutions in Texas that offer Czech language classes for college credit and continuing education. Through Blinn’s Dual Credit Program, high school students can also enroll in Czech courses and earn college credit while fulfilling high school requirements.

“I did it the first time for the fun of it,” Zgabay said. “Then I went back and did it again, this time for dual credit so it went on my college transcript. For the past three or four years, I’ve been taking advanced classes. I’ve already registered and will start it again in September.”

Instructor Thadious Polasek, president of the Czech Ex-Students Association of Texas, brings more than 35 years of experience teaching Czech. He also has led cultural trips to the Czech Republic, where Zgabay and his wife Natalie have visited five times – including to Zach’s ancestral hometown of Vsetín, a city similar in size to Brenham.

“Zach is very enthusiastic about learning the Czech language and culture, as well as Texas Czech history and culture,” said Polasek. “He is very interested in the difference in the Moravian dialects and standard Czech. He sees the need for young people to study the language.”

Zgabay immerses himself in his Czech heritage in other ways, volunteering at Caldwell’s annual Kolache Festival and the Burleson County Czech Heritage Museum, where his wife serves as vice president of the board of directors. Two of his Dime Box students are taking Blinn Czech language classes for dual credit.

“It’s definitely met my expectations,” he said of the classes. “When I go to the Czech Republic, nine times out of 10, people are flabbergasted. They can’t believe that somebody in Texas is learning their language.”

Blinn will offer Conversational Czech language classes (Beginners I and II, Intermediate I and II, and Advanced) online this fall. All of the classes will be taught by Polasek and are available online.

For more information, visit www.blinn.edu/czech or contact Loraine Orellana at 979-743-5237 or loraine.orellana@blinn.edu.