A REMARKABLE JOURNEY FOR POLISH STUDENT BOZENA ZAKRZEWSKA
June 25, 2002, Bloomfield, NJ -- When Bloomfield College student Bozena Zakrzewska of North Arlington emigrated from Poland to the United States 10 years ago, she didn’t know the language, she had few job prospects, and she felt isolated after leaving family and friends.
Today, Zakrzewska is a sophomore at Bloomfield College and is well on her way to achieving her lifelong goal of becoming a nurse. She recently won an essay contest sponsored by the New Jersey Teachers of English as a Second Language, and she also received a $2,000 scholarship from the Polish Foundation in New Jersey.
At the College’s annual awards assembly last spring, she won the First Year Student Award and the Clarence Fuller Scholarship, which is awarded to promote the study of foreign language at Bloomfield College.
This summer, she is studying hard to pass the Pre-NLN nursing exam in order to enter the Bloomfield College nursing program in the fall.
“I always knew I wanted to be a nurse because I truly want to take care of people,” said Zakrzewska. “I always dreamed of working in a hospital.”
In Poland, Zakrzewska attended medical school where she studied to become a midwife. A few years later, she began working as a professional midwife, taking care of newborn babies, helping mothers with their delivery, and comforting and assisting others.
In 1992, her life changed dramatically when she had the opportunity to immigrate to the United States with her husband and her two sons. “I was happy and successful in Poland and all of a sudden everything changed in my life. I had to put my profession, my goals, and any further education aside and had to focus on surviving as an adult with young children in a foreign country,” she said.
Zakrzewska began a new life in New York City, but found that her first few years were filled with struggles and hardship. She couldn’t work in her profession because accreditation for midwives in Poland was very different from that in the United States. She also couldn’t go to school to learn English because she had to take care of her young children.
During the morning hours, when her children were in school, she found work taking care of an elderly Russian couple. In the afternoons, she would take her children to basketball and soccer practice.
After focusing her life on her children and her husband, Zakrzewska decided last year that the time was right to revisit her goals and pursue a professional career. She began taking summer courses through the Bloomfield College English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program, and enrolled as a full-time student last fall.
Her success at Bloomfield College has encouraged her to work harder to achieve her dreams and to do what she loves most.
“I am not as young a person anymore, but I know that I have a lot to offer in the care of others,” said Zakrzewska. “I know that I can be a good nurse and am more than willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish my goals.”
Founded in 1868 as a Presbyterian seminary, Bloomfield College today is an independent, four-year, co-educational institution offering programs in the liberal arts and pre-professional studies. The College’s mission is to prepare students to achieve academic, personal and professional success in a multicultural and global society.
