Ostroh Academy Graduates Send Greetings from London

November 11, 2016

The second meeting with a successful Ostroh Academy graduate Nataliia Kibita, who is a professor at the London School of Economics was organized within the framework of «Alumni Talks» project. This time it was a Skype-conference.

«Alumni Talks» project is a platform for communication between students of Ostroh Academy and its graduates who would like to share their experience and professional information and lessons they have learned at the first institution of higher education of East Europe. The dean of the Faculty of Humanities Dr Dmytro Shevchuk was the initiator of such a meeting format project.

«First of all, the „Alumni Talks“ project is aimed at showing the achievements of academic society of our university, which expand geographically far beyond Ostroh. Today we have reached the United Kingdom as Nataliia Kibita lives and works there. However, the most important is that these meetings demonstrate that we are united by the ethos of Ostroh Academy, the common values we have chosen to be the guidelines of our lives».

So, who is Natalia Kibita?

21 years ago Nataliia Kibita was the 1st year student of Ostroh Academy. 17 years ago she obtained her bachelor’s degree in cultural studies and was one of the first graduates of the university (1999), and now she is a professor of history at the London School of Economics. Nataliia Kibita tells the students about her work at the London School of Economics after cultural studies:

«Cultural studies develop thinking, especially abstract thinking. In order to be a culture expert, one has to know history, philosophy and economics perfectly well. For instance, what is the difference between the Ukrainians and the Russians? The answer is culture. How do both cultures differ specifically? Here comes the main difficulty».

What is she remembered for at the Academy and what does she remember?

Not only do the first graduates of the university make a good memory, but they also establish the traditions. The soul of the revived Academy and one of its traditions is the students’ choir. Its director was not a lecturer, but a student, Nataliia Kibita.

«I have a lot of memories. I remember concert trips to Vilnius and Lviv Opera House. I remember being a student, telling others about Mozart and being told about Nirvana»,

What lessons did Ostroh Academy give her?

«I was studying, I was passing my exams, but I did not realize the value of the knowledge I was acquiring. Maybe, not the knowledge but the skills I learned at the university. The years spent in Ostroh helped me get confident about my strengths which is sometimes more important than knowledge».

What do students get from such meetings?

«The life stories of the graduates inspire them to study. Personally I found it interesting to learn about the developments in the United Kingdom from the point of view of a citizen of this country, as unfortunately the information sources in our country often fail to provide objective estimation of the events»,

«Students benefit a lot from meeting Ostroh Academy graduates, as those who have weathered the hardship of studying and are already employed can share their experience and give some valuable advice. Finally, students have the opportunity to see specific results of their predecessors’ success»,

«Such meetings are important as they enable maintaining the contact between different generations of the NUOA students. Those who graduated from the university years ago and achieved professional success share their experience with todays’ students. It motivates them as well as provide them with the opportunity to choose the right strategy for personal and professional fulfilment»,