I’ve been a member of the San Francisco Area Slovenian community since 2009 and a member of the board of directors since 2016. I am a first generation Slovenian American.  My mother, Ivanka Velikonja Antolin, was born in Ljubljana and my father, Viktor Antolin, was born in the village of Odranci, in the Prekmurje region of Slovenia.  My first language was Slovenian, and as a youngster we would travel from the Gettysburg, PA area to connect with the Slovenian community in Washington D.C. for major holidays and events significant to Slovenian culture. 

 

 I enjoy our major Slovenian cultural events and contribute to the festivities by playing with the various musical combinations.  I have been connected with the Slovenian Community in the Bay Area through the Educational and Dramatic Club Slovenia since the Grape Festival 2012.  From that time on, I have participated in many cultural events at Slovenian Hall and elsewhere; I enrolled and completed two years of Slovenian Language classes and have been a supporter of the American Slovenian Education Foundation. I maintain my strong Slovenian roots through activities at the Slovenian Progressive Home and by communicating with family and friends in Slovenia through social media.