“My name is Sara Apostol and I proved everyone wrong. I proved that I am intelligent enough, hard-working enough, and determined enough to overcome any obstacles”
I am a Criminology and Psychology student on a scholarship at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, one of the top private universities in Illinois. I give private piano lessons to people of all ages as a way to share the amazing gift of music to music-lovers, but I volunteer my time playing piano at senior living facilities, establishing music therapy program in order to improve the residents’ cognitive skills, inspire movement through music, and offer relaxation by playing their all-time favorite tunes.
I was born and raised in Buzau, Romania. My family has a history of being involved in the Roma community- my grandfather, Nicolae Raducan, being the president of the Roma Party in Buzau, my father being the vice-president of the youth of the Roma Party, and my uncle being the president of the youth of the Roma Party. I graduated from the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts as a student of the Advanced Piano Studio and the Vice-president of the Academy. I have been awarded the RISP scholarship for the academic year of 2020-2021.
The beginning of my academic journey started out on a very craggy note. I was just starting my freshman year of high school in Romania and I was sensing first-hand the hurdles set in front of me due to the nature of our system. Yes, segregation in educational institutions is still an issue- not as drastic as a few decades ago, but still a phenomenon in modern education. My high school history teacher told me that I will become nothing more than a waitress in a “cheap tavern that will serve drunk men and easy women” (direct quote). That is why my parents and I have decided to take the grand risk of moving to a whole other country in order to pursue my academic dream and to show to all of those who diminish a child’s potential that with hard work and faith in God, anything can become accomplished! I have auditioned for the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts and I was offered a spot in their Advanced Piano Studio. Throughout high school, I have maintained a perfect grade point average score, keeping a streak of straight A’s. On top of my academic activity, I have used my free time to volunteer at numerous places that helped feed the people who are not as fortunate, played piano at a senior living facility (mentioned above), become Vice President of the academy which required me to help with school events and introduce community service projects, aid in making the academy’s library a more aesthetic environment and encourage young people to engage in reading, conduct and write articles as a journalist for my academy, etc. Throughout this whole time, I have been actively cooperating with Magda Matache, director of the Roma Department at Harvard University, a strong leader and representative of our international Roma community which introduced me to projects regarding our people. Also, I have engaged in fundraisers with the scope of offering financial and material support to Roma people in distress.
The person who has influenced me in my professional, but most importantly my personal development, is Benjamin B. Ferencz. Born in 1920 in Romania, Benjamin was the youngest and chief prosecutor at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, one of the 12 Nuremberg Trials. He was just 27 when he prosecuted criminals that killed over a million Jews and Romas. People were very skeptical of Benjamin’s potential because he was just “little Benny,” the young Jewish boy who could barely be tall enough to see over a counter. Driven by his sense of human rights justice and sharp senses, he proved everyone wrong and brought justice to all the people that have been wronged by the Nazi regime. His passion for humanity and his definite sense of justice overcame all the hurdles set in front of him and allowed him to act as a prosecutor for the first time in his life after graduating from law school and successfully bring victims to justice. And I admire that fully. My sense of justice for people put under pressure by other individuals is what moved me across the ocean, got me the highest marks in school, and granted me scholarships in order to attend university and study Criminology and Psychology. It is my passion for humanity that wakes me up each morning, motivating me to engage in my studies in order for to hold a function that could give me the authority to be an advocate for those who experience crimes against humanity. It is my passion for humanity that motivates me to help all the people I encounter. It is this exact passion that put me on the track of going to law school in order to represent the oppressed. Just like Benjamin Ferencz did.
I could talk about my academic achievements, how I received an invitation to become a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, an exclusive organization that invites less than 10% of the American college student population for their remarkable academic career, but there is something else that made me prouder and more humane. In one of the senior living facilities I have played at for the elderly, there was one resident in particular that seemed grumpy all the time! Nothing could bring a smile to that person’s face. I have found out what her favorite song was, and I have learned it on the piano just for her. When she heard me play the song, tears began to flow down her face, a wide smile enlightened her feature, and she began singing along to the tune. In the end, she thanked me for the wonderful gift I have given her because that piece of music helped her remember her young love and brought back many memories. Due to her age, her memory was starting to fail but stimulants such as music improved her cognitive skills and helped her recall events and people from her life. She thanked me for making her day wonderful because she hadn’t had a good day in a very long time, but it was me who felt the need to thank her- for giving me the opportunity to remind her of her greatest memories. I then learned that self-accomplishments are something to be proud of, but they will not satisfy one’s soul entirely. By offering to others, one feels fulfilled with their actions, and making a person happy by helping them even the slightest is something worth being proud of.
If you go back to the beginning of your educational journey, what would you have done differently?
Absolutely nothing. It is all the mistakes I’ve made, all the obstacles I’ve stumbled upon, all the sleepless nights and cranky mornings stressing over school or life that made me the strong person I am today. If we worry too much about what we have done in the past, we become oblivious to the people we have turned out to be as a result of our experiences. Regrets will not change anything about the past, but they can hold a major role in the way we choose to turn out in the future. Therefore, there is nothing I would have done differently in the past, not even the mistakes that felt the most painful at the time.
What kind of mentorship or/and tutorship did you receive so far?
My biggest mentor would have to be my experience. Throughout my journey, I have met people that have added little pieces that turned out to shape me into the independent student and working individual I am today. My family could not afford private tutors or internships that would take me under the wing of successful people. However, I had the pleasure of meeting people from different backgrounds with diverse stories to share that shed some light on their knowledge with me, helping me structure my mindset. Therefore, I am the result of all my past encounters with excellent people that have shown me how I would like to be in the future and with not so pleasant people that have shown me how I would not like to turn out in the future and what I should do to avoid it.
What are your plans for your future?
As a side occupation, I give piano lessons to people of all ages. Music has always been the way I chose to express my most hidden and profound feelings, my getaway from reality, and I wanted to offer the gift of transposing into a world of wonder and sentiments to other young people with potential and love for music. If they need educational guidance, I am flexible in that area as well. I try to be for my students everything I wish I have had as a child transitioning into a teenager. Of course, it can sometimes get amusing when having to teach a 30-year-old boxer how to properly position their hand on the keyboard, but I am loving the diversity of people that are interested in music. As for my plans for the future, I currently working on studying Criminology and Psychology to get a better understanding of dealing with people who have had their human rights violated, both from a legal point of view and a psychological point of view. With that knowledge, I plan to further extend my studies to law school and become a representative of all the minorities, with emphasis on the Roma, who are in need of a legal and mental health advocate.
Why it is important for Roma to be part of your profession?
It is important for my Roma heritage to be part of my profession because it is my identity. It is the reason obstacles have been set in my way of success, and it is the reason why I have been so ardent about wanting to succeed and prevent other young people with potential from going through what I went through. Roma people, especially young women, deal with mental health issues due to the barriers imposed by discrimination, developing a fixed mindset about one’s potential, diminishing one into a dehumanized version of the self. They believe that just because of their ethnicity, they do not stand a chance in accomplishing their dream, whatever dream they may have. The reason why being Roma is an important part of my profession is to remind myself and all Roma people out there that anything they put their mind to can indeed be accomplished and that no background, color of skin, height, or language can prevent them from becoming the people they dream about being one day. It is hard and requires many sacrifices, but I promise you all one thing. At the end of the day, it will all be worth it. If I can, so can you. You become the person you are proud of when you look in the mirror and that alone brings great satisfaction to the soul.
How do you utilize your Roma cultural heritage in everyday life?
I utilize my Roma heritage by bringing awareness to people who choose to believe in the negative stereotypes and to Roma people who feel discouraged to pursue their interests due to ethnic barriers. I use social media a lot to promote my work and progress and other young Roma people’s work and journey in order to break down the unfair labels placed upon people solely based on the color of their skin and to encourage all the people of our international Roma community that if a tiny girl from a small town was able to take matters into her own hands and work hard enough to do something significant, then there is nothing too impossible to stop them from doing the exact same thing. If I can, then you can!
What in the Roma culture is unique and valuable, in your opinion?
One aspect that is remarkable in the Roma culture would have to be our crafty ability. We are hard-working people that never back down from a strenuous task. Our creative aptitudes allow for the genesis of beautiful work- that being either music, art, woodwork, academic achievement, etc. We are beautiful and vibrant souls and we put that into our labor, whatever path we choose to take. And that is sensational.
What sort of impact your volunteering would have on your community?
Social Media is a powerful tool nowadays to help people, especially now with COVID-19 taking over social work movements. Therefore, I try to promote on my social accounts fundraisers with the scope to assist Roma people. As I said, I have been engaging with the director of the Roma department at Harvard University for quite a while now and I have been a part of a few research studies about the Roma. By making my academic and extracurricular activities public on social media, I make it possible for other Roma teens to ask any questions they may have about starting their academic experience or offer any guidance they might seek. I am still at the beginning of my activism journey, but I try to meet as many Roma representatives as possible from all over the world to be ready to take on big tasks when the pandemic is over.
An inspiring interview with one of REF’s outstanding students, a remarkable recipient of a RISP scholarship
Roma International Scholarship Program (RISP) is designed to provide partial support to Roma students who are citizens of one of the following Program countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, and Ukraine, and are pursuing Bachelor, Master, Doctorate, or Postdoctoral education outside their home country or country of residence.
The aim of the RISP scholarship is to promote the academic mobility of Roma students and support their academic integration internationally.
