Jennifer Salva was crowned the 2012 Miss Czech-Slovak in August of 2012 and has a exciting year representing Slovaks and Czechs across the US. She is a senior at the University of Kansas majoring in journalism, film media studies and Arabic. Jennifer attended the Oklahoma and Kansas state pageants, and served as a judge for the Minnesota and Wisconsin state pageants. She watched talented dancers compete for the title of National Polka Festival King and Queen at the National Polka Festival in Ennis, Texas, and attended the Spring Festival of the American Czech Educational Center in St. Louis, Missouri. Jennifer also attended the Sugar Creek Slavic Festival in her hometown of Sugar Creek, Missouri where she performed Slavic song and dance with the Sugar Creek Ethnic Dance Troupe. Jennifer was honored to meet the Czech Ambassador Petr Gandalovic twice during her reign; once at the Czech & Slovak Club of Kansas City Ambassador reception dinner, and again at the European Union Open House in Washington D.C. While in our nation’s capitol, Jennifer had the opportunity to visit both the Czech and Slovak Embassies, and perform her saxophone Embassy visitors. Jennifer also had the honor of meeting Kansas Governor Sam Brownback to discuss the importance of the Czech and Slovak population in the state of Kansas and throughout the country. Jennifer enjoyed finding ways to incorporate her passion for her heritage into her studies at the University of Kansas. One of her proudest moments was giving a presentation about the Slovak Republic in the Arabic language. Jennifer was also awarded 2nd place in the Snyder Book Collecting Contest for her collection of books about Czech and Slovak customs and culture. Traveling around the country representing the Czech and Slovak heritages was truly an unforgettable experience for Jennifer, and she also enjoyed traveling to the Czech and Slovak republics in June. She visited Prague, Bratislava, and her favorite event of the year; spending time with her family members who live in Hrustin, Slovakia—the village where her grandmother was born. She enjoyed catching up with her relatives and helping her favorite cousin, Andrea, get ready for her wedding! Jennifer also met with the Slovak documentary filmmaker Ivo Brachtl in Bratislava to discuss how she can participate in the production of his latest documentary which will air on Czech television. Although her reign as Miss Czech-Slovak U.S. is coming to an end, Jennifer is looking forward to organizing the first Miss Czech-Slovak Missouri Pageant in 2014 with the support of the St. Louis Sokol, The Czech and Slovak Club of Kansas City and the Sugar Creek Fair and Festival Board.
Posted on: Sat, 03 Aug 2013 04:15:41 +0000