The annual awards of the Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports included medals for two Masaryk University students and graduates for their remarkable volunteering activities during the pandemic. “This medal is deserved by all students who helped other people,” said the university rector, Martin Bareš. Photo: Coordination centre of volunteers at Masaryk university headquarters. Credit: Jan Prokopius, under license CC-BY.
Brno, Jan 8 (BD) – The Czech Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports has awarded medals to two students representing Masaryk University (MUNI), in recognition of their outstanding volunteering activities during the pandemic under the MUNI POMÁHÁ initiative.
“Masaryk University has shown and continues to show that it is active, and can help in times of crisis. This medal is deserved by all students who helped other people. As the rector of the university, I am very proud of our students,” said MUNI Rector Martin Bareš.
Ten awards were given out in recognition of exceptional deeds by students in the last year. From MUNI, Veronika Podolská and Jiří Byčkov received the awards. The Minister drew attention to the good work of students and university graduates who have participated in volunteering and other activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A student of MUNI’s Faculty of Arts and Economics, Podolská received the award for helping to provide masks and disinfectant to many people in her hometown since the beginning of the pandemic. The second winner, Byčkov, a postgraduate student and teacher from the Faculty of Arts, volunteered in the Alzheimer’s Center in Ostrava during the pandemic, working as a volunteer caregiver and psychotherapist. In an interview for MUNI POMÁHÁ, he stated that his work was an invaluable experience, despite the difficulties. Byčkov said that he was in direct contact with patients, and a challenging part of his volunteering was to take care of the seniors’ daily needs while wearing protective suits and masks.
