NOTES ON PEOPLE (12/20/98)

NOTES ON PEOPLE

A Kharkiv wedding for Yarema Bachynsky

KHARKIV - Inna Scherbakova of Kharkiv and Yarema Bachynsky of New York City were married on November 14, a beautiful snowy day, at St. Dymytrii Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Kharkiv.

The marriage ceremony was performed by Archbishop Ihor of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church in the presence of couple's parents, Ludmila and Valerij Scherbakov and Barbara and Jarema Bachynsky, as well as other family members and friends from Ukraine, the United States and Canada.

Inna Scherbakova, who comes from a family of physicians, is a gynecologist and obstetrician at Kharkiv Specialized Maternity Hospital No. 5. She is a graduate of Kharkiv State Medical University.

Mr. Bachynsky, a native of New York, is a graduate of New York Law School and New York University. He is public relations and development coordinator for the Kyiv Regional Office of the Eurasia Foundation.

He had been an editorial assistant at The Ukrainian Weekly, and he continues to contribute occasional news stories to the paper. His two trips as volunteer with the Ukrainian National Association's "Teaching English in Ukraine" program in Kharkiv led him to his future bride.

The newlyweds, together with Dr. Scherbakova's son, Ivan, plan to make Kyiv their home.

Mr. Bachynsky is a member of UNA Branch 184 in New York.

Student has long list of academic accolades

SUMMIT, N.J. - The Rev. Kevin Murphy, headmaster of Oratory Prep School here announced that senior Peter Steciuk was named "Student of the Month" for October. This honor is added to a long list of accolades that Peter has received.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. George Steciuk of Convent Station, N.J., Peter has been designated as a National Merit semifinalist in the 1999 Merit Scholarship program. He was recently named an AP Scholar with Distinction by the College Board for having successfully passed five separate advanced placement exams: Latin literature, Vergil, English language and composition, U.S. history and computer science. Peter will take four more exams at the end of this school year, making it possible for him to leave Oratory with the equivalent of nine college courses.

The National Honor Society senior also placed second in both the junior varsity and varsity divisions of the Tri-State Catholic High School Math League. He was fifth in the chemistry competition in the New Jersey Science League and 17th in the state for his participation in the Merck State Science Day.

He passed the National Latin IV Poetry Exam magna cum laude.

He has also been awarded the Rensselaer Medal, which recognizes a student for outstanding achievement in the areas of math and science. It carries with it a $10,000 annual scholarship if the student chooses to attend the university.

More recently, Peter was named an Edward J. Bloustein Distinguished Scholar, an honor bestowed upon New Jersey students who have demonstrated academic excellence in secondary schools.

Peter has also scored well on his standardized tests for college admissions. On the SATs, he received a score of 780 in the math exam, which represents missing only one question, and in the Verbal, he received a perfect 800 score. On the SAT II tests that he took in writing, math-level II and chemistry, he received a perfect 800 score on each.

The Convent Station resident is active on Oratory's Math Team and Chemistry Team. He was sports editor for The Omega, the school newspaper, in his junior year, and this year is the editor-in- chief. He is also president of the school's Ukrainian Club.

Peter has been on Oratory's varsity soccer team for four years and this year has been named captain. He was twice selected to the All-County Team. Peter also plays varsity baseball and basketball.

Outside of Oratory, Peter is very active in the Plast Ukrainian Youth Organization, attaining the highest rank for "yunatstvo" (youths age 11-17). He has been a youth counselor for the past two years.

For two summers, Peter worked as a camp counselor for the Morris County ARC. He assisted youngsters with developmental disabilities in a variety of recreational activities.

In 1998, Peter graduated with highest honors from the Lesia Ukrainka School of Ukrainian Studies in Morris County. This 13-year Saturday program consist of courses in language, culture, geography, history and literature, all taught in Ukrainian.

With plans to follow a career in mathematics, Peter is applying to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Brown, the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania. He was recently notified of his acceptance to the United States Military Academy at West Point.

In reviewing all of Peter's accomplishments, Steven R. Fava, assistant headmaster for academics, remarked, "Several faculty members have commented that Peter is one of the most extraordinary students the school has seen in 25 years."

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