Congratulations to the 2022 Fried Academy Scholarship Recipients
William Copper and Andrew Giambattista are the 2022 Fried Academy Scholarship recipients
The Sam and Frances Fried Holocaust and Genocide Academy is pleased to congratulate William Copper and Drew Giambattista, recipients of this year’s Fried Academy Scholarship.
The Fried Academy Scholarship was established in 2020 and offers scholarships to undergraduate students at UNO pursuing a minor in Holocaust and Genocide Studies (HGS).
“Around the world antisemitism and other forms of hate are on the rise,” says Mark Celinscak, PhD, Executive Director of the Fried Academy. “The Fried Academy is proud to support undergraduate students minoring in Holocaust and Genocide Studies. This comprehensive program of study is designed to help students understand the causes of genocide, to draw lessons from the past and to assist them in becoming responsible global citizens.”
HGS minor students are provided with an interdisciplinary approach to genocide through the study of history, political science, literature, philosophy, law, sociology, religious studies, and other offerings.
Giambattista, a Political Science major, says that the HGS minor is helping him answer his own questions about genocide.
“The reality of genocide shatters my heart. Since discovering the terror of Stalin’s genocides in high school, I’ve been seized by the question of why; what pushes people to slaughter others en mass? What allows this purest form of evil to flourish?”
William Copper, a Secondary Education and History major, enrolled in the minor because he sees it as an educational asset.
“I enrolled in the Holocaust and Genocide Studies minor because I believe as an activist, educator, and future historian, I should be educated on these subjects not only to teach in the future but because of the concerning rise of Holocaust denial and genocide denial in current times.”
The Fried Academy Scholarship awards up to five undergraduate students each academic year, with amounts valued between $500 and $2500.