Since 2022, Romanians of DC has served as a community partner for the Romanian American National Heritage Award, at the invitation of the American Romanian Cultural Society.
The Romanian American National Heritage award is an annual competition aimed at high school students with Romanian heritage or connections, working to contribute to strengthening the Romanian spirit and community cohesion in the United States. The award distinguishes exceptional contributions of youth to increasing the community cohesion, the preservation and dissemination of the Romanian culture and traditions in the United States.
The Award is presented by the American Romanian Cultural Society, the Romanian United Foundation, and Alianța with the endorsement of the Embassy of Romania to the United States. In addition to Romanian of DC, other local community partners in previous years have included: the Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota, Românul Corp in Connecticut, Casa Română in Northern California, ARCS Arizona, and ARCS Detroit.
For the 2024 edition, students must be enrolled in an educational institution in the U.S. and entering 8th – 12th grade as of September 2024. They must also have a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 (or the equivalent). Both individuals and teams can participate in the competition. Participation in teams is encouraged. To encourage leadership and simplify the evaluation process, the maximum team size is five, including the leader. Applicants must have Romanian heritage or their project / experience must relate to the Romanian diaspora. There are no Romanian or U.S. citizenship requirements. There are no fees required, this competition is entirely free to participate in, except for optional travel, accommodations, and any participatory or entry tickets to the Awards Gala.
All eligible participants receive the official recognition of the Romanian Embassy in the United States and the top winners may also receive a financial award. In the past years, the award has helped the recipients distinguish themselves in their admission process to top colleges and institutions, such as Dartmouth College, Wesleyan University, Pitzer College, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, Whitman College, Purdue University, UW Honors, Harvard and many others.
The application for the 2024 Awards opened on June 15 and will remain open through August 25, 2024. Winners will be announced on September 15 and recognized at an Awards Ceremony scheduled to take place at a date still to be determined in November in Washington, DC.
To learn more about the eligibility criteria, the evaluation process, and to apply for the Romanian American National Heritage Awards, please visit www.romanianamericanheritage.us!
2023 Local Winners
Stephanie Drăgoi, National Gold Award
Ana Martin, U.S. East Gold Award
Alexandru Drăgoi, U.S. East Silver Award
Laura Melinciuc, U.S. East Silver Award