Issue link: http://tcnj.uberflip.com/i/395467
Giving H i G H L i G H t s g R a T i T u d e In the late 1940s, Milena Pribramska '50 was an international student with no time left on her exchange agreement, no safe home to return to, and no funds to support her stay in the united States. at's when president Roscoe l. West stepped in. More than a half-century later, pribramska leaves a lasting legacy as a profound expression of gratitude. pribramska came to the college from Czechoslovakia in the fall of 1948 via the Institute of International education (IIe), an organization still working today to bring about understanding between nations through educational exchange. A student of english at the university of prague, she left for study in the united States under the looming shadow of the Communist takeover in her country. She knew no one when she first arrived, but told a tCnJ staffer in 2007 that "everyone was extremely friendly and made me feel welcome." At the end of her exchange year, the situation had not improved in her home country, and the IIe urged her to stay at the college. lacking the means to do so, West intervened, and somehow, she was permitted to stay. pribramska later learned that social studies professor Helen Carpenter and many of her classmates made her continued stay possible through contributions of their own funds. After she graduated in 1950, West offered her a position at the library in exchange for room and board. During this time, her student visa expired, but luckily she was able to gain refugee status through a private bill in Congress. West then took one final step that secured pribramska's place in her new world: After the college received a call from the public library in Maplewood, new Jersey, seeking a young graduate to employ, West personally called the library to recommend pribramska for the position—a job she would hold for 38 years. pribramska died in 2011, and this year tCnJ received a bequest of more than $180,000 from her estate, which will benefit the library and a scholarship fund. She was given an education, a profession, and a new life from her family at the college, and all these years later, pribramska says "thank you" in a manner most befitting of her story. 18