We recently connected with Réka Vicsacsán and have shared our conversation below.
Réka, so great to have you with us and thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with the community. So, let’s jump into something that stops so many people from going after their dreams – haters, nay-sayers, etc. We’d love to hear about how you dealt with that and persisted on your path.
I was called stubborn several times in my life. However, I like to call it persistence.
Persistence, I believe, is an inner strength that comes with practice and self-knowledge. I was not always a persistent person and I can not say that I am in every aspect of my life to this day. But when it comes to people, situations, knowledge, etc. that I perceive as important, worthy of attention and effort, I do input the energy and time necessary to achieve certain goals.
In order to make these decisions self-knowledge is essential. One must know who they are, what is their ultimate goal in life, what their strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and obstacles are. Limits can be stretched to a certain extent with self-trust/self-esteem, hard work, and persistence. This is quite a dynamic process and it evolves over time. It is affected both by supporters and naysayers, the culture one lives in, and the social context.
As a young adult I was less confident in my abilities and my decisions. I gave in fairly easily when I found myself confronting negative feedback. But with time that trust in my abilities grew, and I practiced more resilience and persisted at working on my goals. Why and how did it work? First I learned how to set achievable goals, SMART goals, that were specific enough, could be measured, they were relevant to the vision of who I wanted to become, and made sure I set up a time frame for these to be achieved. Did everything always go well? Of course not. There were times when I had to extend the time frame, there were times, when I questioned my decisions. But every single time when I reminded myself of the purpose, the big WHY to which I was working towards, I was able to keep going and tell myself that in spite of the people or comments that targeted me with the intention to bring me down or impede me in the work that I was doing, I will be able to fulfill my goals.
Whenever an obstacle presents itself my other strategy is to motivate myself with some of my favorite quotes or songs. One that I love and that will always stick with me is from a Hungarian author, Sandor Sik. When it comes to someone’s actions through life, he suggests one thing: to do good. Do good in spite of others liking it or not, do good no matter if it’s noticed or not, if it will bring you successes or not, Do as much good as you can, where you are, however, you can, as big as you can, but never stop doing good.
I try to follow this advice even if I fail at times. But I know that with failure comes the experience and knowledge. I use these to push my limits every single time. To think strategically, to think outside of the box, and be creative. I teach my students every day of the importance of life long learning. And this teaching is not just theory. It is applied in my leadership role all the time. I had to learn how to build a nonprofit from scratch and how to run such an organization in an environment that was foreign to me and presented several challenges.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
My journey as a nonprofit leader began in 2017. Prior to this time I volunteered for the Hungarian church and was involved in the Hungarian community, but me and a good friend of mine, Emese Andras, felt that we could do more, or rather something different for them. What lead to this realization was that we listened to the members of the community. Many expressed a desire for certain social and educational events, they gave us specific input as to what they would like or dislike, helped us with providing a space for the events and slowly we came to the conclusion that a non-profit has to be incorporated to be able to grow, apply for grants, and find sponsors.
The Hungarian Cultural Association of Phoenix became a well known brand among Hungarians since. Our focus is still on education and social events. We offer weekly language classes for adult learners, we run a weekend based heritage school, the Napocska Hungarian School. We also offer monthly social gatherings like the Hungarian Happy Hour (Beszélsz Magyarul) where everyone is welcome who would like to practice the language and befriend other Hungarians.
Our list of annual events has grown as well. We organize everything from markets to festivals. The three major events of the year are the Hungarian Festival of Arizona, the Harvest Ball, and the Christmas Market. The Festival is very unique in nature. Besides the variety of traditional Hungarian foods and pastries that we offer, or the amazing performances from folk to contemporary style, you will find yourself immersed in a world where you can experience the Hungarian people’s ancient nomadic past. Activities for example include a Yurt play house instead of a regular bouncy, in which you’ll find traditional artifacts, toys and clothing. Kids can pretend play and use tools to cook some delicious meals, sit on a saddle and pretend horse, play with cornhusk dolls, and make some noise using the drums. Those who are brave enough can try the whip cracking, can learn archery with the toy bows and arrows, or can “fight” off their “enemy” during the folk game called ‘bubuc-battle’.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
All of these events that we organize along with the educational programs are something that the team, including me, is working on in their free time. All of us are working mothers, most of us have small children. But we somehow manage to fit everything into our daily schedules. Why? – you might ask. It seems a very busy life style. And it truly is. It is less sleep, less time spent with the family, more stress, more conflicts, much more work than the usual 9 to 5 schedule. But each one of us has a very significant ‘Why’ that keeps them from giving up.
My ‘Why’ or rather make it plural, my whys are my children. The most important in every mother’s life. I want them to grow up knowing this culture, speaking the language, having the opportunity to engage with other Hungarians, make Hungarian friends, see Hungarian performances. Of course, I could teach them at home and have them spend summers back in Europe, no need for an organization to achieve that. And here is where the advice of Sandor Sik comes into play once again. This is my other ‘Why’. If you have certain qualities, skills, and knowledge that you can utilize to help others, do it. I am a very motivated person, who has the skills to teach larger groups of people, and the knowledge to help those who would like to learn about Hungary, its culture, and language. Ultimately another reason would be homesickness. Close engagement with the culture, with the Hungarian community, always helps me feeling close to home.
What I would advise anyone who is early in their journey is to try to find their ‘Why’. This will keep them motivated, it will also keep them from giving up when they face pushback. A second advice would be self reflection. Get to know yourself well, your skills, your qualities, and try to be as objective as you can. Feedback is extremely important. Listen to others, analyze their suggestions, but ultimately do what you think aligns best with your values. It is you who will have to face their conscience every single day.
How can folks who want to work with you connect?
The main purpose of showcasing the Hungarian culture and teaching about it is to build friendships with others. I have a strong belief in the power of knowledge. By getting to know each other’s cultures better, we can be more effective communicators. Building these bridges will result in feelings of appreciation for other cultures. It will hopefully help lower the number of instances when we face misunderstandings and conflict.
We would love to partner with anyone that promotes diversity. We have helped quite a few organizations already. Most recently we were invited by the Desert Garden Montessori in Ahwatukee to their Multicultural Day where we participated in the exhibit and offered an activity that many students engaged in. It is always fulfilling to share fun facts, share our foods, dances, and music.
You can reach us at [email protected] or if you would like to talk to me directly, it is [email protected]
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hcaphoenix.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hcaphoenix/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hcaphoenix/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hcaphoenix
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/hca_phoenix
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hcaphoenix
- Other: Hungarian Festival AZ: https://hungarianfestivalarizona.org/
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Sunshine Pix, Marianna P., Edit Vasadi Photography
