Today we’d like to introduce you to Réka Vicsacsán.
Réka, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), Romania, and grew up in a multicultural environment that sparked my curiosity about the world from an early age. My family is Hungarian, so I was raised bilingual, and I became very interested not only by my own cultural heritage but also by the different languages, traditions, and perspectives that surrounded me.
That curiosity grew into a love of travel. I have always wanted to experience places firsthand – to meet the locals, hear their stories, and see how they live. I took advantage of every opportunity I could, whether it was a family vacation, a school trip, a conference during my university years, or a work-and-travel program. Over the years, these experiences took me to countries across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and Greece, among others. I also had the opportunity to live in Hungary for an extended period of time.
Looking back, those experiences shaped much more than my love of travel. They taught me to appreciate cultural differences while also recognizing the many things people have in common. That perspective has become an important part of who I am, both personally and professionally.
Today, I call Glendale, Arizona, home. In many ways, my journey has taken me a long way from Kolozsvár, but my multicultural roots and my curiosity about people and cultures continue to influence the work I do and the communities I am passionate about.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I think the challenges have shaped me just as much as the successes. Moving to the United States meant starting over in many ways. Even though I brought my education, professional experience, languages, and cultural background with me, I still had to learn how to navigate a new country, a new professional environment, and a new culture. Building a career and a professional network from scratch while also finding my place personally was both exciting and challenging.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work sits at the intersection of communication, education, culture, and community building. Professionally, I am a communication instructor at Grand Canyon University, where I teach courses ranging from Intro to Communication Studies and Intercultural Communication to Organizational Communication and Communication Campaigns. I have now been teaching at GCU for ten years, which is something I am particularly proud of because the road to establishing myself professionally in the United States was not an easy one.
When I first moved to the U.S., I had to start over in many ways. I had to build a professional network from scratch, learn the culture and expectations of the American academic workplace, and find my own voice and place within a new professional environment. My previous education and experience were valuable, but I quickly learned that starting over in a new country also means learning a new system. It took persistence, patience, and a willingness to continually learn and adapt.
Ten years later, I feel incredibly grateful to have built a career and a community at Grand Canyon University where I feel genuinely appreciated and valued. I was recently honored with the university’s Provost Excellence Award, which was especially meaningful to me because it represented not only recognition of my work, but also how far I have come since those early days of starting over.
Outside the university, I serve as president of the Hungarian Cultural Association of Phoenix and director of the Napocska Hungarian Heritage School. I also help organize the Hungarian Heritage Festival AZ. Through these organizations, I work to preserve and share Hungarian language, culture, traditions, and identity while creating opportunities for people from different backgrounds to connect with Hungarian culture.
A common thread runs through all of my work: I build bridges. Whether I am teaching students, helping children connect with their heritage, organizing a cultural festival, or bringing people together through community programs, I am interested in how communication can create understanding, connection, and a sense of belonging.
What I am most proud of is not one particular title or accomplishment, but the people and communities I have been able to influence along the way. Seeing a student discover their voice, watching children develop a connection to their heritage, community members becoming friends through their volunteer work, or seeing hundreds of people come together at a cultural festival are the moments that make the work meaningful to me.
What sets me apart is the combination of perspectives I bring. I am an educator, a communication scholar, an immigrant, a bilingual and multicultural person, and a community leader. I have experienced cultural adaptation personally, studied communication academically, taught it professionally, and applied it in the real world through nonprofit leadership and community events. I don’t just teach communication theory – I use it every day to build relationships and communities.
Ultimately, I believe culture survives through people, and communities thrive when people feel that they belong. My work allows me to help create both.
Any big plans?
I’m at an exciting point in my life and career where I’m thinking less about simply building something and more about how I can expand its impact. After ten years of teaching at Grand Canyon University and years of working in the Hungarian community, I feel that many of the pieces I have been building separately are beginning to come together.
Professionally, I would like to continue developing my work. I am especially interested in strategic communication for nonprofit and community organizations – helping organizations communicate their mission more effectively, engage their audiences, and create events and programs that truly bring people together.
I also want to continue growing the Hungarian Cultural Association of Phoenix and the Napocska Hungarian Heritage School. Our goal is not simply to preserve Hungarian traditions, but to make them meaningful and accessible to a new generation. I would love to see our programs, such as the Hungarian Festival AZ, continue to grow, reach more families, and create even more opportunities for children and adults to connect with Hungarian culture while also welcoming people who may have no Hungarian background at all.
On a personal level, I’m also trying to think about the next chapter with a little more intention. For many years, my focus was on building a career, raising a family, establishing myself in a new country, and creating organizations and programs that mattered to me. Now I’m asking myself how I can continue doing meaningful work while also creating more space for travel, family, and new experiences.
So I don’t necessarily see one dramatic change on the horizon. Instead, I see an exciting period of growth. I’m particularly excited about the possibility of turning some of the lessons I’ve learned through teaching and community leadership into ideas that can help other organizations and communities thrive.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hcaphoenix.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hcaphoenix/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hcaphoenix/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rekavicsacsan/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@hcaphoenix
- Other: https://hungarianfestivalarizona.org/
Image Credits
Cynthia Photo
M. Pinter Photo
Ralph Freso/ GCU
