Mavka-like Tanya Kost crowned Miss Soyuzivka 1997 (09/01/96)

Mavka-like Tanya Kost crowned Miss Soyuzivka 1997

by Serhiy Myroniuk
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KERHONKSON, N.Y. - Although she misidentified the gender of the Ukrainian National Association's president, it didn't prevent her from getting the wreath of Miss Soyuzivka 1997 at the UNA estate on August 18.

Twenty-two-year-old Tanya Kost of North Royalton, Ohio, was chosen from among nine young women who competed in the UNA's 41st traditional contest. Wearing a wreath of wild flowers and smiling to people who cheered her at the south end of the Veselka Terrace after midnight, she resembled the Mavka from Lesia Ukrainka's play "Lisova Pisnia" (Forest Song).

Two first runners-up from New Jersey, Zenia Helbig, 20, of South Orange, and Krystyna Kosz, 26, of Clifton, as well as second runner-up Olenka Rojowsky, 19, of Brooklyn, N.Y., shared the moment with the new queen.

Earlier, however, when asked by a three-person jury to name the current UNA president, Ms. Kost did it correctly but said it was a gentleman rather than a lady, which prompted the panel to explode with laughter, since the president is Mrs. Ulana Diachuk.

"I am rather embarrassed, but at least I got the name correctly," said Ms. Kost, smiling after the crowning ceremony. "I had heard the name and, in fact, my sister had told me who it was, and unfortunately I didn't recall what she said."

After operatic singers of Lviv Lesia Hrabova and Roman Tsymbala ended their evening perfomances in the Veselka Auditorium, the jury began the process of selecting a new Miss Soyuzivka. The judges - singer Olya Chodoba-Fryz, Sonya Semanyszyn, Soyuzivka's office manager; and UNA Advisor Alex Chudolij - evaluated the young womens' fluency in the Ukrainian language, participation in the Ukrainian community, knowledge of current events in Ukraine as well as academic standing and physical appearance. To participate, a contestant had to be over age 17, never married, and a UNA member.

UNA Advisor Stephanie Hawryluk monitored the process.

Due to the higher number of contestants this year (last year only five young women competed), the panel missed the deadline that had been set for 11:45 p.m. and made its decision well past midnight.

Even before Halyna Kolessa, the estate's mistress of ceremonies for 1996, began to announce the selections on the Veselka Terrace, where guests gathered to enjoy the music of Burlaky, a portion of the crowd started to chant, "Zenia! Zenia!" The reference was to Ms. Helbig, who became one of the two first runners-up. A summa cum laude graduate of Mount St. Mary Academy, she is now a sophomore at Drew University, where she studies physics and world religions.

Her tied competitor Ms. Kosz is a graduate of Rutgers University and has a bachelor's degree in marketing. Second runner-up Ms. Rojowsky, a recipient of a special UNA scholarship award for 1996-1997, is a biology major at Barnard College, Columbia University.

As Ms. Hawryluk laid the wreath on Ms. Kost's head (outgoing Miss Soyuzivka Tania Sawa, who was to perform this part, wasn't around at the moment), the crowd cheered and applauded. Mavka-like Ms. Kost was smiling, her eyes radiating irrepressible joy.

Then she danced the traditional first dance with the estate's manager, John A. Flis. They were joined eventually by the runners-up and the judges with their dance partners.

Ms. Kost, a summa cum laude graduate of Case Western Reserve University with two bachelor's degrees, in physics and German, didn't expect to be selected. When asked before the contest whether she was going to win, Ms. Kost replied this was not a fair question because there were a lot of worthy competitors to choose from.

"I am just curious what they are going to ask me," said Ms. Kost as she sat in the last row in the Veselka Auditorium and waited for her turn to be interviewd by the judges.

Speaking of two young women from Ukraine who didn't advance to the top, she said the only difference between her and them was her experience in the Ukrainian community, especially in UNA programs. Ms. Kost is an active member of Plast and is director for "novatstvo" (children up to age 11) of the U.S. National Plast Command. As part of the UNA program "Teaching English in Ukraine," she traveled this summer to Zalishchyky, Ternopil Oblast, where she taught the language.

"I am sure if these girls would have done the work I did they would possibly be in my shoes as well," she said.

Indeed, 17-year-old Martha Tatarevich and 24-year-old Lesia Kalynska had completed applications for UNA membership just before the contest and didn't score high on UNA activities.

However, Ms. Kalynska of Kyiv, a graduate of the Drahomanov Ukrainian State Pedagogical University with a degree in Ukrainian philology, was probably one of the strongest competitors when it came to social activism in the Ukrainian community. A member of the Ukrainian Student Union, she had participated in the famous student hunger strike that prompted Prime Minister Vitaliy Masol to resign in October 1990. Specializing in the newest Ukrainian literature, she is now pursuing a literary career.

Ms. Kalynska, in blue skirt and yellow blouse, said she wanted to just participate.

"My chances are low because Miss Soyuzivka combines the knowledge of Ukrainian and English," said Ms. Kalynska, who came to this country two months ago to participate in been a speaker at the 15th annual conference on Ukrainian studies at the University of Illinois in June.

Noting how difficult it was to make the selections, the members of the jury expressed their admiration for all of the contestants.

Miss Soyuzivka will receive $500 in prize money and a free week at the UNA's estate. Each of the two first runners-up will also enjoy an all-expenses-paid, one-week stay at Soyuzivka, while the second runner-up is entitled to any free weekend there.