Community honors Frau Nicolovius on 40th anniversary of German exchange

Kerstin Hammerling of the Goethe Institut presents Ms. Nicolovius with a certificate of appreciation. (Michelle Stark photo)

Shelbey Wright took German for four years at Canton High School and each year her teacher was Frau Elsa Nicolovius.

“Mrs. Nicolovius was an amazing teacher, so incredibly dedicated. Committed, totally committed,” said Wright, a member of the Class of 1985. “We talked a lot about current events, a lot of world events. We read some really good literature. She treated us like grownups.”

Wright also traveled to Germany with her teacher and a group of classmates. “[It was] my first time in Europe,” Wright recalled. “It was amazing. It was completely different from small-town America. Going to Germany in high school was one of those life-changing things.”

Wright, who went on to study German in college, was one of dozens of Canton High School alumni, local families, and colleagues who gathered in the CHS auditorium last Friday to say ‘Danke’ to Frau Elsa Nicolovius for 40 years of exchange trips between Canton High School and St. Georg-Gymnasium in Bocholt, Germany. Students travel as part of the German American Partnership Program, which is run through the Goethe Institut in Boston. According to CHS World Language Department Director Heidi Olson, it is the longest continuous German exchange program in the United States.

Canton Superintendent of Schools Dr. Jennifer Fischer-Mueller congratulated Nicolovius on the ongoing success of the exchange program and thanked her for her work to create an inclusive and engaged community. She recognized her as the “human bridge between two cultures.”

CHS Principal Derek Folan expressed deep appreciation for providing a global experience to Canton students. “Their lives are changed,” he said. “They talk differently. That have a different perspective.”

CHS Class of 1995 members Karolina Mansur, Dawn Michelson, and Sue Kemalian traveled together to Bocholt with Nicolovius. “There was a new world that we got to see,” said Mansur, who has traveled to Germany three times since last fall for her work in an art museum. “We had a connection to the families,” added Michelson, who has stayed in touch with her family.

“I think it inspired a lifelong love of travel and learning,” Kemelian said of her German exchange experience. “Because Frau Nicolovius inspired us to dig a little deeper and get to know the people.”

Kerstin Hämmerling from the Goethe Institut in Boston presented Nicolovius with a book and a certificate. “You have been able to make amazing things happen,” she said. “In 40 years old walls can fall and new ones can be resurrected.”

CHS Spanish teacher Pam D’Agostino spoke of how she met her colleague 20 years ago and came to deeply admire her over the years. “Always gracious, always willing to help a colleague, and always thinking of others,” D’Agostino said, noting that Nicolovius is also known for her sense of fashion and style.

Attendees unveil their “Frau Rocks” t-shirts. At front is Betty Chelmow, who has hosted many exchange students through the years. (Michelle Stark photo)

D’Agostino added a message of thanks to Nicolovius’ husband, Joseph Scionti, who was hospitalized and unable to attend the ceremony. “Joe has always supported Elsa in this work,” she said. “Mille grazie.”

Olson and D’Agostino presented Nicolovius with a crystal solar-powered globe to honor her work.

Lisa Goetze studied German and went to Bocholt on the first exchange in the spring of 1979 when she was a senior at CHS. “(Nicolovius) worked tirelessly to get the German exchange program started,” she said. “It was the best part of high school.” Goetze said that she was hired for her first job after college, because she spoke German.

Jan Marie Hagan wrote a letter to thank Nicolovius for her work with the exchange trips. Her sister Patricia Hagan Byrne traveled to Bocholt on the first trip and stayed with the Wolbring family. Josef Wolbring visited Canton when the German students traveled here and was hosted by the Hagan family. During that trip he expressed an interest in visiting Disney World and Byrne told him that it was too far away. The two families have stayed in touch, with different members of different generations traveling back and forth. Last week, Josef and his daughter Johanna visited Byrne, who now lives in Florida, and the long-awaited trip to Disney was finally realized.

“Ms. Nicolovius set our families on a course to lifelong friendship,” Hagan wrote. “This friendship has enriched our lives and broadened our views of the world. For that, the Hagan and Wolbring families are forever grateful.”

The Saluti family of Canton also wrote a letter, which was included in the June 22 program. They hosted 11 German students, one teacher, and one principal; five of the Saluti children went on the exchange. “Our world has been enhanced by our connections with German people. Thank you, Mrs. Nicolovius!”

Laurie Dorsey Woodworth, Carolyn Elkort, Caroline Earle, and Sue Corraro LaRosa traveled on the exchange in April of 1988, a few months before they graduated from Canton High School. The four classmates were back at CHS on Friday to honor their teacher as they recalled memories. Berlin was a divided city and the students were able to visit East Berlin. They spent five days in Berlin and traveled to Bonn, Heidelberg, Freiburg, and Cologne. In Bocholt, they met their families and went to class with the German students.

“It was such a great time and we really enjoyed ourselves,” Dorsey Woodworth said. “A lot of great memories. I actually went on to study German in college.”

Former CHS Principal Joseph Joyce interviewed Nicolovius for her job during a snowstorm. She recalled that the interview was short, because Joyce said that if she showed up when the weather was bad, she was obviously reliable. She began teaching and then started traveling to Germany with CHS students.

“The 40 years have been rewarding,” she said. “My goal has been to open the minds of these young people. I hope together we can make the world a more friendly and a better place.”

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Jun 30 2018. Filed under Features. Both comments and pings are currently closed.