Czech Ex-Students Association of Texas gifts $2,800 to support Blinn College Czech language students

Blinn is one of only two higher education institutions in the state to offer college credit for Czech language courses

November 11, 2019

The Czech Ex-Students Association of Texas (CESAT) has gifted $2,800 to the Blinn College Foundation to establish scholarships for students who take Czech language classes at the Blinn-Schulenburg Campus.

The Blinn College District is one of only two higher education institutions in the state to offer Czech language classes for college credit. This Fall, the Schulenburg Campus began offering college-credit courses that can satisfy foreign language requirements at four-year universities.

The donation will be used to boost enrollment in Czech language classes, said Becky Garlick, Executive Dean of the Schulenburg Campus.

“Our goal is to increase enrollment of dual credit students in our area who want to learn Czech,” Garlick said. “They can take Czech to fulfill the requirement for two years of a foreign language.”

CESAT President and Blinn College Czech Language Professor Thadious Polasek said the organization looks for ways to promote the Czech language and culture, and helping Blinn students meets that goal.

“The most important goal CESAT must strive for is the increased ethnic awareness of our people in Texas through the expansion of Czech language classes in Texas,” Polasek said. “CESAT accepts the membership of any person interested in our Czech heritage and the preservation of the Czech language in Texas.”

Blinn offers beginning, intermediate, and advanced Czech courses online and at the Schulenburg Campus.

High school students can take the courses through Blinn’s Dual Credit Program, which allows students to earn credits toward a college degree while satisfying the requirements for high school graduation.

For more information about Blinn’s Czech language classes, visit www.blinn.edu/czech or contact Loraine Orellana at lorellana@blinn.edu or 979-743-5237.