Inauguration-2018 at Ostroh Academy

September 02, 2018

The National University of Ostroh Academy welcomes freshmen once again. Inauguration-2018, the solemn ceremony of initiation of the freshers into the students’ fraternity of the National University of Ostroh Academy, has been held today.

Following a tradition, the event started with a theatrical performance. Prince Vasyl-Kostiantyn of Ostroh and Princess Halshka of Ostroh, the founders of Ostroh Academy, as well as Ivan Fedorovych and Herasym Smotrytskyi, the prominent figures of Ostroh educational and cultural center, welcomed the freshmen and gave them the Book of Life – the Holy Bible.

“... To acquire the achievements of the world’s science and culture in good faith; to relentlessly come all the way to the truth, and having learnt one never to betray it... Never and in no way to smirch the honor of the Student Brotherhood; to love and respect my lecturers... To preserve love to my native land throughout my life... To serve my people with good faith and fidelity; to give the gained knowledge and skills for their benefit. I promise!” vowed every fresher.

Today the guests of the university have been Mykola Zhulynskyi, Director of Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, PhD in Philology (Dr. hab), Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Co-Head of the Supervision Council of the NUOA, Academician of Ostroh Academic Society, Oleksandr Danylchuk, Head of Rivne Regional Council, Vitalii Undir, First Vice-Head of Rivne Regional State Administration, PhD in Public Administration, the graduate of the Faculty of Economics of the NUOA, Oleksandr Korniichuk, Vice-Head of Rivne Regional State Administration, PhD in Public Administration, the graduate of the Faculty of Political Studies and Information Management of the NUOA, Oleksandr Shyker, Mayor of Ostroh, Bohdan Turovych, Head of Ostroh Regional State Administration, the graduate of the NUOA, Roman Vasylyshyn, PhD in Economics, Protector of the National University of Ostroh Academy, the member of the Supervision Council of the NUOA, Academician of Ostroh Academic Society, Henrique Manuel Alonso da Costa Guimarães, Professor from Portugal, a professional phographer, the author of the photography exhibition “The Live Trains”, Serhii Vakulenko, Head of Kharkiv Historical and Pedagogical Society, Associate Professor of the Department of Ukrainian Language of H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, and Valerii Aliiev, Lawyer and a resettler from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

While helping themselves to a holiday loaf, the guests were traditionally congratulating the freshers on the beginning of the academic year and wishing them inspiration, persistence, and self-realization.

“It is a great honor and a high duty to study at Ostroh Academy. The one is indeed a unique university with a long history, which not a single Ukrainian higher education institution has. I sincerely wish you to gain knowledge here and realize yourselves in the name of our country. I am sure that there is a great future for you, and I believe that our Ukraine will only strengthen and grow. You are our country’s future elite. The further creation and building of Ukraine are laid upon you,” addressed Mykola Zhulynskyi to the freshmen.

Svitlana Yankevych, a first-year student, also delivered welcoming remarks,

“In this beautiful morning, we have been gathered in order to begin adult student life full of positive emotions, new friends, and persistent studying. I am very glad that I will study at Ostroh Academy, since it is the treasure trove of Ukraine’s history and culture. It is here that a lot of Ukrainian public figures were educated.”

This year about 500 young men and women from the different parts of Ukraine became the students of Ostroh Academy. For instance, Sofiia Semeniuk, the first-year student of the Faculty of Romance and Germanic Languages, has dreamed to study only at Ostroh Academy despite having applied to the other universities.

“Since my early childhood, I have dreamed of studying at Ostroh Academy because I went on excursions and took part in contests here. I have liked the university. I think that it is here that I can realize myself,” shares her impressions the young lady.

At the end of the ceremony, the freshers were invited to the temple of science – the National University of Ostroh Academy. Later on, the first-year students had an opportunity to attend the inaugural lectures. Mykola Zhulynskyi, PhD in Philology (Dr. hab), Professor, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Director of Taras Shevchenko Institute of Literature of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Co-Head of the Supervision Council of the NUOA, Honored Academician of Ostroh Academic Society, told the students about the tragic fate of Ukraine’s national elite, and Valerii Aliiev, Jurisprudent, Lawyer, and a resettler from the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, delivered a lecture under the theme “The Crimean issue: legal aspect”.

After the inaugural lectures, the freshmen, parents, and guests of Ostroh Academy visited the opening of the photography exhibition “The Live Trains” by Henrique Manuel Alonso da Costa Guimarães. The exhibition featured a number of photographs on a train, on a railroad track, and at a railway station taken in 2003 and 2016. The author traveled all over Ukraine by train and took the photographs of travelers.

Within the framework of Inauguration-2018, an event called “The Songfest” took place in the academic park, where the freshers sang songs and got acquainted with the senior students. Writer Oles Undir, who recited his poetry to everyone present, was a unique guest of the event.