Lamar Rotary Hosts International Student-Athletes from LCC

Ines Guerreiro-Portugal, Charlene Hosly France, Anamarija Mikovic- Serbia- and Lana Skripkina- Russia

Lamar Rotary hosted four Lamar Community College students who are finishing their final year of study at the college before venturing on to a new segment of their educational careers following May graduation ceremonies.

Dr. Linda Lujan, Rotary President and President of Lamar Community College, introduced the four young women during a rotary luncheon this past Thursday, March 21, at Las Brisas Restaurant in Lamar. Guests included: Pat Christensen, LCC Residence Life/Student Life Director and students: Lana Skripkina- Russia, Ines Guerreiro-Portugal, Charlene Hosly –France and Anamarija Mikovic- Serbia.  They were recruited to LCC as part of an exchange program which couples their athletic ability with academic studies.  The four take part in basketball and volleyball program at the college.

What’s immediately noticeable is how conversant each of the four is with the English language. Portugese student, Ines Guerreiro, who hails from Lisbon explained, “I’ve been learning English since I was five years old.  I started with numerals and progressed to a regular working vocabulary.”  The others expressed similar educational backgrounds, with Anamarija Mikovic stating that English for her was a fairly easy language to learn.

Lamar was not quite what they had expected. Ines adding, “I grew up on the coast of Portugal, so being near the water was common for us, but I thought I would be nearer to mountains and lakes, so this is a change for me.  The weather here is bi-polar.”  She added that she has enjoyed the openness of the southeast plains, as her experience has been with very big cities.  “Here, I am able to take a walk without coming in contact with many others.”  This is her first venture to America, and she has spent time living in England which she considers her second home.  Her studies include chemistry, anatomy and sports medicine.

Anamarija Mikovic said she had received offers from other schools in other states, but decided to begin her transition to this country in a smaller community which is why she chose Lamar. Her long range goals include a future in marketing and finances which she’ll pursue when she transfers to Wyoming next year once she has her AA degree from Lamar.

Lana Skripkina, at six feet, one inch, is a natural for her basketball goals. She said she’s wanted to be able to come to the U.S. to further her studies.  “My town is different from Lamar as we have a lot of hills and it’s very green there, so this is a change for me.  It’s very dry and it’s colder here too.”

Charlene Hosly who hails from France lives in the northern region of the country and not very far from Germany. She’s playing volleyball on the way to her degree.  This was Charlene’s birthday and the Rotary group managed to turn her beet red for a few moments with their rendition of, “Happy Birthday”.  She noted that in France, at 18, she is considered of legal age as an adult.

Rotarian, Dr. James Smith provided an update on the annual Ducky Dash event, a fund raiser for the Rotary’s dictionary foundation which donates hundreds of hard bound books to third graders in several southeast Colorado counties. He offered some new news for this year’s Dash event which is held during Lamar Days in May.  “In past years the Dash was held at the Lamar Canal and then it moved to Willow Creek Park at the pool and with all 2,000 ducks placed in a big revolving drum.  This year we hope to be able to temporarily dam the creek with the help of the fire department and float all the ducks down the stream to get our winners in five prize division.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Lujan presented each of the students with a certificate indicating that a dictionary will be donated to a Colorado student with their name inscribed in the book.

By Russ Baldwin