Program: Budapest Fellowship Program
Year: 2021
Host Institution: MCC – Mathias Corvinus Collegium
Research Focus: Preserving Hungarian Identity and Culture
Quote: “I am eminently thankful to the Hungary Foundation and to MCC for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. I find it truly a joy to immerse myself in the culture, sights, history, religion, and language of one of the world’s most fascinating and admirable countries. Looking to the future, I hope to make Hungary my permanent home, with plans to earn my Ph.D. and then teach college students in Budapest and beyond.”
Read her introduction here: hungaryfoundation.org
After her initial visit to Hungary so many years ago, Kelli Buzzard returned home to the United States to study for her Bachelor of Arts in communications and history. In 2005 she earned an MA in Christian Thought and recently she finished her MA in Classics.
She then invested a decade in building Christian leaders in ministry and the marketplace, after which time she returned to Europe. This time she spent a year living and working in the war-torn Balkans and sporadically visiting Budapest, the location of her NGO’s headquarters. Then, returning home, Kelli worked for a Seattle-based non-profit fundraising firm and an international visiting professor ministry while also studying for her Masters in Christian Thought (history, philosophy, theology).
Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC) has been nurturing young talents for 25 years.
MCC supports young people who are committed to their country, willing to contribute to their local communities, and who feel responsible for their compatriots and their environment. We help them, independently from their social or cultural background, unlock their potential and thrive for their own benefit and, in the long run, for the benefit of all Hungarians.
Their goal is to prepare the next patriotic generation that is talented, open-minded, internationally experienced, and with good command of foreign languages. With this skill set, they will be able to represent the Hungarian interests with confidence, even in the midst of global competition, and take part in the domestic or international debates as well as in the decisions determining the future of the Hungarian nation. At the same time, they can contribute to enhancing public dialogue and culture, and thus becoming a worthy representative of the cultural, economic and social elite of Hungary.