USCAK provides scholarships to physical education students in Lviv

by Dr. Orest Popovych

NEWARK, N.J. - The Ukrainian Sports Federation of the U.S.A. and Canada (USCAK) has provided $2,000 a year for student scholarships at the Lviv State Institute of Physical Culture (LSIPC) for the years 2002 and 2003. This award represents another installment in the ongoing five-year scholarship program that was launched in August 2000 with a signed agreement between USCAK President Myron Stebelsky and Myroslav Hertsyk, the president of LSIPC. USCAK agreed to establish a scholarship fund of $10,000, of which $2,000 annually would be distributed among several deserving students in the years 2000 through 2004.

The scholarships are designed to provide financial assistance and encouragement to those LSIPC students who exhibit the qualities of Ukrainian patriotism and excel academically as well as in sports. In addition, one-time assistance is envisioned in cases of extreme financial hardship.

So far, complete and well-documented records have been received on the disbursement of the scholarships in the years 2000 and 2001. The awards in the amount of $200 per student were presented in the year 2000 to: Volodymyr Napera, Oksana Putsylo, Vira Hlynska, Lubov Sheshurak, Natalia Prokopovych, Natalia Kuzma, Svitlana Druz and Lilia Vezdenko. In 2001 awards were given to: Vasyl Skoropad, Iryna Sharadovska, Natalia Kuzma, Stanislav Chornyi, Ola Bas, Yuriy Rostotsky and Vitaliy Kucherenko. For the year 2002, the names of two recipients are known thus far: Lubomyr Shlomsky and Natalia Hural.

The Lviv State Institute of Physical Culture is an institution that is remarkable in two respects. One is its emphasis on fostering Ukrainian patriotism among its students and faculty. Even the awarding of the USCAK scholarships is generally scheduled to coincide with a patriotic event - the anniversary of the founding of the Western Ukrainian National Republic in Lviv on November 1, 1918. The November anniversary is celebrated by the institute with a traditional long-distance run, in which the entire student body and faculty participate. The scholarships are presented immediately following the race.

Another notable characteristic of the LSIPC is its admirable transparency when it comes to the disbursement of the scholarship money. Not only are the awards scrupulously documented for the benefit of USCAK, but the names of the scholarship recipients are also prominently displayed in a main hallway of the institute.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 12, 2003, No. 2, Vol. LXXI

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