President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Meets with UCU Students
On December 18, 2024, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky met with students of the Ukrainian Catholic University at the Sheptytsky Center of UCU. Some 200 students from various faculties and programs attended the question-and-answer session.
The press service of the Ukrainian Catholic University reported this.
The meeting began with a moment of silence and a quiet prayer for the fallen heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The event was opened by Bishop Borys Gudziak, President of UCU and Metropolitan of Philadelphia, who noted that “we pray for our soldiers and leaders every day. Today, Mr. President, our talented students, the future of Ukraine, are before you. Many of the UCU community are now at the front. Unfortunately, 33 members of our community gave their lives in this war. To feel united with our Heroes, I invite you to a moment of quiet prayer. May peace and certainty of the victory of God’s truth be with us.”
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the importance of developing high-quality education, especially in times of war.
“Education provides great opportunities, superiority, and agency in the world. It is a powerful defense that enables us to respond appropriately to challenges. An independent country is built by independent people. Such people are shaped in universities with high-quality education that helps them understand where they live, what they work for, what they fight for, and, unfortunately, what they may give their lives for,” the President of Ukraine emphasized.
He added that “the quality of education at UCU and the security in the Lviv region allow students to study in person, which is especially valuable during the war, as not all students in Ukraine can study full-time, unfortunately.”
“Today, you are the ones who are undergoing great challenges,” Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the students of UCU. “I urge you not to stand in one place but to pursue your goals. I also wish you not to fear making mistakes, but to analyze them and learn from them. But, do not be conceited or consider yourself the smartest—there will always be smarter and more skillful people around.”
The President also emphasized the importance of working with young Ukrainians living abroad for various reasons.
The meeting with the students lasted over an hour. Students had the opportunity to ask questions. They addressed such topics as the restoration of people and territories, working with global Ukrainainess, engaging young people in promoting Ukraine in the world, etc.
UCU Rector Taras Dobko, who moderated the meeting, emphasized that most of the young people present here became students of the university during the period of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“These talented young people could have chosen to study abroad, yet they decided to study in Ukraine. Today, Ukrainian universities are competing for students not with each other, but with foreign educational institutions. This year, UCU enrolled the most students in its history, even despite the war and the decline in the number of applicants across Ukraine. The reason is quality and government grants. 95 % of our applicants this year received a state grant. UCU is becoming a magnet that attracts students and encourages them to stay in Ukraine. This generation of students is both the generation of the great war and the generation of great strength,” emphasized Taras Dobko.
The rector of UCU also added that the security of our country starts with hope: “I wish you, Mr. President, to keep hope in your heart—the very thing the aggressor seeks to take from us, trying to instill fear and despair in our hearts.
The UGCC Department for Information
