LVIV – The Ukrainian Catholic University this year graduated 270 students, celebrating their accomplishments at a commencement ceremony on June 30.
A few hours before the ceremony, near the newly built Sheptytsky Center, work was under way for the outdoor ceremony – something new for UCU.
The graduates of the bachelor’s and master’s programs started to gather. All were attired all in long gowns with hoods of different colors depending on their program of study. I manage to catch a few graduates for their comments. All generously share their joy, talk about studying at UCU and, of course, what they think of the format of this year’s graduation.
Hryhorii Trotskyi, a veteran of the ATO (anti-terrorist operation) in Ukraine’s east, today is a graduate of the master’s program in public administration of the UCU School of Public Management. He ended up studying at UCU thanks to a scholarship program for former soldiers. “The atmosphere at UCU is very different from that at other universities in Ukraine: dedicated teachers, unique students, a professional program and, most importantly, real communication,” says Mr. Trotskyi.
Mariana Nikolaienko is receiving a bachelor’s degree in social pedagogy. Smiling and a little excited, she is glad to share her impressions of her student years. She says that her studies were full of many opportunities but the most valuable aspect of the program was that it was very practical. “We regularly met people who work in the social sphere, and this was very inspiring. So I soon started volunteering at parishes and now I work with children in the early grades,” she notes.
Volodymyr Khitsyak, who in 2004 graduated from UCU after majoring in theology and philosophy, today is a graduate of the master’s program in technology management of UCU’s Lviv Business School (LvBS). It seems to be an unusual combination of degrees, but it’s actually very relevant, for the technology field today needs people with an understanding of ethics in the broad sense of the word.
Boris Lushniak delivers the commencement address.
“In today’s technology world, we see a demand for management at another level: with a very good philosophical, theological or humanitarian base,” Mr. Khitsyak comments. “In any event, at the center of it all stands the human being, our connections with one another, with God, with society. This understanding is increasing on an ever larger scale in the whole technology business.”
“Today I head the LvBS Center of Ethics and Technology. There we study the influence of new technologies on society, in particular, the ethical aspects of this influence. In this area, my new studies helped me see business aspects, possibilities for forecasting,” he explains.
I ask Myroslav Marynovych, UCU’s vice-rector for university mission: “How do you like the new graduation format?” He replies: “It is something very natural for UCU. I recall how at the rectorate meeting we talked about this square in front of the church. We imagined that sometime ceremonies would be held right here. And that ‘sometime’ is today.”
Mr. Marynovych was a Soviet-era dissident who in his youth sat in jail many years for his pro-Ukrainian position. I ask him what he wishes for all those who here and now are starting a new stage in their lives. “A person simply starts studying at university; he studies all his life. So my greatest wish for the graduates is that they not only confirm this truth each day, but that through their actions and bearing it is evident that they are graduates of UCU,” he answers.
Today is a celebration not only for the graduates but also for their parents. Bohdan Troyanovskyi is the happy father of Ksenia, who is about to receive her bachelor’s degree in psychology. They chose UCU because of its environment.
“Ksenia once studied at St. Sophia School. And they often asked my wife and me why we sent our daughter to that kind of school. I answered: ‘Here is an environment that we trust.’ The Ukrainian Catholic University has something similar: it has its own environment, teachers and students who are very serious about life,” says Mr. Troyanovskyi. “I had very great trust in the university and was convinced that here my daughter would receive a foundation of knowledge that is truly useful and necessary in life. A university cannot give all knowledge, and that is not its task, but the foundation is a must.”
The ceremony begins
Finally the moment has come. After a service in the University Church of the Holy Wisdom of God, guests, vice-rectors, teachers and UCU President Bishop Borys Gudziak take their places. With ceremonial music, the name of each educational program and its director is announced. The graduates come into the tent and sit in the first rows in front of the stage.
UCU’s rector, Father Bohdan Prach is invited to speak. He has words of gratitude and prayer: “Dear graduates, your teachers and parents or guardians throughout the years were like these candles – on fire for your sake, giving all their love. So I call you to pass on all the knowledge, humaneness and love that you have received. And this also means: Do not be afraid to go forward, to fight for truth, for Ukraine, for values, to serve our nation. You have studied for this purpose,” the rector underscores.
Then Bishop Borys Gudziak addresses the graduates: “You are a new generation for a new Ukraine. Under this slogan a great fund-raising campaign was conducted which has given us these buildings all around and which rallied tens of thousands of friends and benefactors of UCU from many countries. And the only way to thank them for their openness, courage, ability to communicate, to witness is to be worthy of their service.”
UCU Rector Father Bohdan Prach addresses the students.
Bishop Borys introduces the invited guest of the commencement ceremony. Dr. Boris Lushniak is an American of Ukrainian descent who was acting surgeon general under President Barack Obama; he is a retired rear admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. “This celebration has particular beauty for me because the main speaker is one of my old friends and the former surgeon general of the U.S.A.,” says the bishop. “I am very pleased that this professional, this servant, this doctor, a human being who was an example for me, a source of joy, can be together with us.”
Dr. Lushniak comes to the microphone and delivers an incredibly humorous but no less meaningful speech, which more than once brings forth applause, smiles and surprise.
“Today is your day. In English we use the word ‘commencement’ for the ceremony that culminates a certain chapter of academic life. Fairly often this is incorrectly interpreted as the completion of the educational process, the culmination of which is receiving a degree and gaining status. However, this term comes from Latin and means ‘a beginning,’ not ‘an end.’ So today is for you the start of your way in life. It is truly an honor for me to be invited as this year’s main speaker,” Dr. Lushniak begins.
Then he muses about why he was invited to speak at the commencement: “Perhaps the decision to invite me was influenced by the fact that I was a rear admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and played a role in the administration of former President Obama. Perhaps my academic role had an influence – dean and professor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. Perhaps it was influenced by my role as a member of the board of directors of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation in the U.S.A.”
“Or perhaps none of the factors above mentioned were as important in the process of my selection as the status ‘F of V’… You ask: ‘What does that mean?’ And that, perhaps, is one of my greatest blessings… ‘F of V’ is an abbreviation for ‘Friends of Vladyka’ – the bishop. Perhaps it all depends not on what you know but on who you know,” he quips.
Dr. Lushniak proceeds to gives UCU students five lessons that influenced the prospects in life of one person named Boris Lushniak.
Lesson 1. You never know when and where you will meet a better friend, so always foster friendship.
Lesson 2. Remember your roots. Cherish your contacts with your family, ancestors, history and nation.
Lesson 3. Make healthy choices. The majority of illnesses in the world can be avoided, and this depends on your personal choice.
Lesson 4. Be ready to wear various hats, including the hat of humor. In life we have the opportunity to play many roles and each has certain obligations.
Lesson 5. Start serving others.
“Treat what I told you as a hypothesis. But I challenge you to test it in your own lives…” he concludes.
A few minutes after the ceremony
Immediately after the ceremony, everyone gathers near the Sheptytsky Center for a group photograph. One, two, three… The rector and the graduates toss up their caps. The photographers capture the moment. Everyone smiles and hugs.
Melania-Maria Podoliak, one of two students named valedictorians this year, now has a master’s in mediacommunications from UCU . She admits that what lies ahead is unknown, that she is a little scared, but “the UCU environment gives certainty that you will never be left alone.”
Dmytro Palchykov has graduated from the UCU Journalism School. He is now sharing impressions with his parents, who joyfully look at their adult son. “During my studies I received much more than the technical skills to work as a journalist. I gained a certain philosophy and mastered important disciplines which, at first glance, are not related to the work of a journalist,” he says. “UCU gave me what will stay with me when all the superficial knowledge has been forgotten, namely: a positive and persistent way of thinking.”