Twin Cities' Ukrainians welcome Stefanyshyn-Piper (12/31/06)

Twin Cities' Ukrainians welcome Stefanyshyn-Piper

by Michael J. Kozak

MINNEAPOLIS - The Ukrainian community of Minneapolis and St. Paul is very proud that one of its members, Capt. Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper of the U.S Navy, became a member of the STS-115 crew on the space shuttle Atlantis and recently completed her mission into space. For those in the Twin Cities, where she was born, grew up and shaped her outlook on her future life, this unusually talented lady is known simply as Heide.

Local Ukrainian community members took advantage of the astronaut's recent visit to her family and organized a welcome home reception on December 3. Hundreds turned out to meet and cheer their favorite daughter at a special reception at St. Constantine's School.

Heide came from a humble immigrant family. Her father, Michael Stefanyshyn, was born in Ukraine, and her mother, Adelheide, in Germany. They met and got married in St. Paul. Both became members of St. Stephan's Ukrainian Catholic Church. They raised four sons and one daughter, and all five became successful according to their interests and talents. Two sons became Marines.

Heide was never the average Ukrainian American girl. According to her mother, Heide has "always been a high achiever who did a lot of learning by observing and then doing on her own." She always excelled at school and became a member of the National Honor Society. She won first place in the school mathematics contest. She also participated in sports and was a member of the Drama Club. During her high school senior year she was assistant editor of the yearbook and was chosen the most intelligent in a class poll. She graduated as class salutatorian.

Heide also attended Saturday morning Ukrainian classes at St. Constantine's Church in Minneapolis, where she was an outstanding student. At the age of 13, she became an active member of the parish youth organization. Heide became an eager participant in all activities, always willing to listen and to learn.

She became an outstanding dancer of the Zahrava Folk Dance Ensemble, a member of the Troyandy Girls Vocal Ensemble, and an active member in many other youth-sponsored commemorative programs.

Many thanks are due to her mother, who never hesitated to sacrifice her time and effort to drive from St. Paul to Minneapolis for these weekly activities. After working all night at the hospital, her mother was often seen in a quiet corner of the school auditorium where she would rest while waiting for her children to complete their activities.

Heide was also a member of the local branch of Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization from the age of 6 to 18. She was very active in the organization, was counselor to a troop of "novachky" (youngest girlscouts), and attended camps in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Montreal and Edmonton. She has not forgotten her friends from Plast, and still keeps in touch with them.

She has remained deeply religious. Prior to the observance of the Millennium of Christianity in Ukraine, she wrote an editorial for the parish youth publication Trident.

She expressed the following thoughts:

"As 1988 draws near, we should take time to prepare ourselves to join in this glorious anniversary ...

Our preparation should not be limited to festive activities, but surrounded by an overall spiritual renewal of our faith in Ukrainian Christianity ... In today's world, people are seeming to drift further and further from religion. Careers, schools and opportunities begin to take precedence over religion. Attendance in parishes and religious education is slowly decreasing ... The real shame of this outcome is the effect on our youth, for they are our future ... Let us not become so involved in the material world that we neglect our Ukrainian faith and heritage ..."

During one of her recent interviews Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper stressed that her late father had a deep devotion to God and the Church, and that he frequently reminded her of the importance of faith and education.

In 1980, upon graduation from high school, Ms. Stefanyshyn received U.S. Navy and Junior achievement scholarships to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1984 she received a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering and the following year a master's in mechanical engineering.

During her years at MIT, she continued to stay in touch with her Ukrainian friends in the Twin Cities. At one time she wrote, "I like MIT very much. I have much studying to do. I also teach third grade Ukrainian at the school at Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Parish."

At MIT she also joined the ROTC, which led to her career in the Navy, where she received the rank of captain this past summer. She became a diver and an experienced Salvage Officer. She was at the Sea Systems Command before being accepted in 1996 by NASA into the astronaut training program. During her service in the Navy she received many awards, Commendation Medals and a Meritorious Service Medal.

In an interview with a Navy publication, Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper stated that she joined the space program for the same reason she became a diver: "I was looking for something challenging that would broaden my horizons." She added that her work as a diver gave her a chance to work in a foreign environment and that "space is the ultimate foreign environment and it really is a final frontier."

Prior to her flight into space, Heide prayed at the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Houston. She took with her a Ukrainian Scout pin, and a small blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag. She also arranged that on their fourth day in space the crew would wake up to Ukrainian music set to the words of Taras Shevchenko.

During the mission she twice spent six hours in space installing a new solar power unit for the International Space Station. After the flight was completed, she was complemented by the mission commander for a job well done.

Because of her hard work and perseverance, Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper succeeded in achieving her goal. She became the first female astronaut from the state of Minnesota and the first of Ukrainian heritage.

In addition to her career, she is also a dedicated wife and mother. She is married to Glenn Piper, a retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy. They have one son, Michael, named after her father.

Thanks to her parents and her willingness to work hard, this Minnesota Ukrainian has made an important contribution to the United States, and has also brought honor and pride to the Ukrainian American community and to all Ukrainians worldwide.

Taking advantage of Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper's visit to her family, the Twin Cities Ukrainian community, under the leadership of the local Plast branch, organized a reception to honor her for her achievements as an astronaut and to express their appreciation for her pride in her Ukrainian heritage.

To accomplish this, a committee was formed of current and former members of Plast, and active fans of Heide within the Ukrainian community. The committee included Zenon and Ulana Stepchuk, Dmytro and Halyna Tataryn, Myroslav and Yvette Pawlyszyn, Slavomyr and Maria Luciw, Katria Hucal and Christina Jermihov.

The event was held on Sunday, December 3, at St. Constantine's School auditorium. There were about 300 people in attendance, including about 50 children from Ukrainian Saturday schools from the Catholic and Orthodox parishes. Local broadcast and print media covered the event.

The day started with lunch, providing an opportunity for Heide to greet and meet many of the people attending. During this time, slides were shown of Heide participating in Plast activities and performing with the local folk dance and vocal ensembles.

Appearing on the stage after an introduction by Committee Chairman Zenon Stepchuk, Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper was greeted with a thunderous standing ovation. Wolodymyr Anastazievsky served as master of ceremonies. Welcoming remarks were extended by the Rev. Canon Michael Stelmach from St. Constantine's, Denise Tataryn from the Saturday school, Bohdan Kuchvarsky from the Ukrainian American Youth Association (SUM) and Katria Hucal from Plast. This part of the program was concluded with a poem authored by Yaryna Zoriana in honor of the astronaut that was eloquently recited by Maria Voronchak.

In an hourlong presentation, Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper recalled her efforts and hard work on the road to becoming an astronaut. She showed a video and slides of her mission into space, including activities both inside and outside the spacecraft, and talked about her impressions of the liftoff, weightlessness, space food, housekeeping and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

The audience was so captivated by her presentation that even a whisper would have carried across the hall. When she showed a slide of the Ukrainian flag displayed inside the shuttle, the audience broke into spontaneous, boisterous applause.

After the presentation, the Ukrainian American astronaut asked the children to come close to the stage. Addressing them directly, she encouraged the children to study hard and obtain the highest education possible, as this is the best way to achieve one's dreams. The children listened very quietly and intently as the honored guest answered their numerous questions.

At the conclusion of the program, many people stayed on for a long time to visit with Capt. Stefanyshyn-Piper and extend their congratulations, obtain autographs and have pictures taken with their hometown astronaut.

Michael Kozak, M.D., is a longtime community activist from the Twin Cities area. He served as the youth activities coordinator at St. Constantine Parish at the time that Heide Stefanyshyn was active in the parish youth organization.

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