Giving without borders
Jean Szilagyi of Conneaut, Ohio, helps to run a nonprofit organization and teaches a course on long-term care laws and regulations for the online Graduate & Professional Studies division.
"I always put my students first," states Jean of balancing her teaching duties with her work for Sharing America's Resources Abroad (SARA), an organization co-founded by her and her husband in cooperation with the United Church of Christ.
SARA sends money, medical equipment no longer in use by American facilities, and other supplies to needy countries. It also helps to coordinate specialized education for foreign medical personnel. As an ambassador for SARA, Jean has traveled to Hungary, Ukraine, Slovakia, Serbia, Romania and El Salvador. "My husband would like to say I do everything," Jean says of her role, "but I mostly handle all of the written communications and computer work."
She has also traveled to England, Scotland and Italy for pleasure. "I always tell my students, ‘Do what you want to do and make time for what you want to do,'" she says of scheduling personal pursuits.
Now a doctoral candidate in health sciences at a college in Hungary, Jean also writes for Hungarian journals on Alzheimer's. A former health care facilities compliance surveyor and university lecturer, she now serves as a consultant to Lorantffy Care Center and on the board of directors for a rehabilitation center. Amid her many commitments to her students and the world, this busy and high-spirited alumna tries to squeeze in time for her beloved crossword puzzles.
Ph.D. candidate, University of Pecs, Hungary, 2008-present
Honorary Doctorate (M.D.),
University of Uzghorod, Ukraine, 2003
Master of Health Services Administration,
Saint Joseph's College, 1999
Bachelor of Science in Professional Arts,
Saint Joseph's College, 1992
Diploma, St. Elizabeth Hospital School of Nursing, 1965
