UNA awards scholarships for 2023-2024 academic year

by UNA | Sep 1, 2023 | Announcements, Educational, News, Scholarship

PARSIPPANY, N.J. – After thoroughly reviewing student applications for the 2023-2024 scholarships of the Ukrainian National Association (UNA), the UNA Scholarship Committee met on August 8 here at the Home Office to make its final determinations.

The credentials of the applicants were excellent, and some students applied for more than one scholarship for which they were eligible. Thus, the decisions of the Scholarship Committee were challenging. The criteria used by the committee included academic achievement; community and college activity; awards and honors; and content of essays submitted with the application.

This year, there were 44 applicants from 23 UNA branches throughout the United States and Canada for the scholarships and awards.

Special scholarships awarded by the UNA include the following for undergraduate students, funded by generous benefactors: the Joseph and Dora Galandiuk Scholarship ($2,000) for a student excelling in accounting or the sciences; the newly established Orest and Lidia Bilous Family Foundation Scholarship ($2,000) for a student who is studying political science; the Dmytro and Slava Jarosewycz Memorial Scholarship ($1,000) for a student of Ukrainian heritage excelling in his or her studies; the Maria and Taras Slevinsky Scholarship ($1,000) for a student studying nursing; the Philadelphia UNA District Committee’s Stefan Hawrysz Scholarship ($1,000) for a student from one of the district’s nine branches; and the Danylo Andrii Demidenko Scholarship ($500) for a student studying in the medical field.

The UNA also sponsors five UNA Heritage Scholarships of $1,000 each for undergraduate or graduate students enrolled on either a full- or part-time basis. These scholarships – which focus special attention on community involvement – were established in 2019 to coincide with the UNA’s 125th anniversary.

In addition, all student members of the UNA can receive monetary awards for their college studies. These awards are granted upon completion of the senior year of high school and during the students’ college and post-graduate years. This year’s awards once again ranged from $125 for incoming freshmen to $250 for graduate students.

The following students are recipients of special scholarships for the 2023-2024 academic year:

Galandiuk Scholarship – Mark Rokycky, UNA Branch 277, who is entering his sophomore year at the University of Connecti-cut;

Bilous Scholarship – Matthew Manas-terski, UNA Branch 120, who is entering his senior year at the University of Pittsburgh;

Jarosewycz Scholarship – Darij Kulchyc-kyj, UNA Branch 83, who is entering his senior year at Franklin & Marshall College;

Slevinsky Scholarship – Alexandra Soltys, UNA Branch 88, an incoming freshman at Stockton University;

Hawrysz Scholarship – Joseph Stefurak, UNA Branch 501, who is entering his sophomore year at Pennsylvania State University; and

Demidenko Scholarship – Natalia Skyba, Branch 399, who is entering her junior year at Dominican University.

UNA Heritage Scholarship recipients for 2023-2024 are the following:

Sophia Kowal, UNA Branch 27, a junior at Northeastern University;

Maria Kulchyckyj, UNA Branch 83, a graduate student at the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University;

Kaitlen Telepko, UNA Branch 234, a senior at Seton Hall University;

Paul Williams, UNA Branch 37, a senior at Wake Forest University; and

Adriana Zaviysky, UNA Branch 155, a junior at Rutgers School of Pharmacy.

The UNA is grateful for the continued support of all benefactors who fund scholarships for our community’s students. The UNA processes, evaluates and handles the administration of the scholarships they fund based on criteria they establish. Individuals or organizations interested in sponsoring a scholarship are advised to contact UNA President and CEO Roman B. Hirniak at the UNA Home Office, 800-253-9862, extension 3016.

In order to apply for a UNA scholarship or award, a student must have an active, premium-paying UNA insurance policy during the previous two years, with a minimum value of $5,000 (term life policies excluded). The UNA offers a variety of qualifying policies at competitive rates.

For more information about UNA insurance and endowment policies, as well as annuities, IRAs and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts, readers are advised to contact their branch secretary or the UNA directly at 800-253-9862.

To learn more about the UNA’s scholarship program, readers may visit the website https://unainc.org/benefits/scholarships/.

In the more than 129 years of its existence, the Ukrainian National Association has always supported young people in their pursuit of higher education. In fact, the first UNA scholarships were actually small stipends awarded to promising students to help them attain a better future. The formal scholarship program, established in 1964, has awarded scholarships to thousands of young men and women – a legacy of which the UNA is justifiably proud.