The competition for the title "Student of the Year" in Volyn was held for the fifth time. According to the head of the organizing committee, the head of the Lutsk youth council and deputy of the Lutsk City Council, Anton Sosnovskyi, since the competition's inception, more than 2,500 of the most active and most gifted young men and women have participated, competing for victory in the nominations of student-entrepreneur, athlete, public figure, artist, natural sciences scholar, journalist, humanities scholar, and computer genius.
The winners and finalists are determined by a jury composed of authoritative specialists in each field and well-known and respected people in the region. This year, the meeting at which the competition results were summarized took place amid discussions and debates among 25 competent jury members. Many criteria were taken into account: above all, the nominees' real achievements in one field or another, academic success, and public activity.
And so last Saturday, a celebration honoring the "Students of the Year" took place at the regional music and drama theater. The deputy head of the executive apparatus and manager of affairs of the regional council, Volodymyr Navrotskyi, warmly greeted those present and announced pleasant news: since the competition is held under the patronage of the head of the regional council, Vasyl Dmytruk, he will award the winners monthly personal scholarships. The mayor of Lutsk will also recognize the "Students of the Year" in the same way, stated the first deputy mayor, Sviatoslav Kravchuk. In addition, the winners and finalists of the competition received many valuable gifts from sponsors: the regional organization of the SPU, OJSC "Lutsk Bearing Plant," VHRU "PrivatBank," VD CJSC "TAS Insurance Group," OJSC "Lutsk Automobile Plant," and others.
Well-known youth dance ensembles and young soloists shared their artistry with those present. The evening was adorned by performances of the chamber orchestra "Cantabile" under the direction of Honored Artist of Arts Tovii Rivets, Honored Artist Zoia Komaruk, and People's Artist of Ukraine Vasyl Chepeliuk. Incidentally, Tovii Rivets and Vasyl Chepeliuk are members of the competition jury in the student-artist nomination, and it was from their hands that students Nadiia Mykhalchuk, Adam Horbatiuk, and Pavlo Porytskyi received diplomas and gifts.
Many finalists of the competition are not participating in it for the first time. Among them is one of the "computer geniuses," Maksym Mykhaliuk, who, despite his illness and wheelchair, lives a full and interesting student life. The creative output of competition participant Svitlana Zozulia in the journalists' category is also becoming more substantial every year. And the jury named Olha Maksymiak, a student of the history faculty of VDU, as the winner in the student-journalist nomination. Yuliia Derevianchuk also became a finalist in this nomination. The head of the press center of OJSC "LuAZ," Yaroslav Andrushko, greeted the young colleagues on behalf of the jury members.
Students Nataliia Okseniuk, Viktor Ipatiuk, Nadiia Merzak, Iryna Lialka, Anatolii Shevchyk, and many other honorees also felt like birthday celebrants that evening. Volyn State University was recognized as the best higher education institution of the year.