Bohdan Kravchuk is just one of hundreds of thousands of young people across Ukraine who have recently graduated from university.
But Kravchuk has also broken a glass ceiling the country: He is the first Ukrainian with Down Syndrome to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Kravchuk studied history for five years at Lesya Ukrainka East European National University in Lutsk, a city of 217,000 people approximately 400 kilometers west of Kyiv. He graduated on July 11, 2019.
The Kyiv Post reached out to Kravchuk and his family for comments, but did not get a response. However, in an interview with UA:Pershyi, Ukraine’s public broadcaster, Kravchuk said he aspires “to find a job, work, have a family and provide for it and help my mom and dad.”
Anatoliy Shvab, dean of the university’s history department, said that Kravchuk was a distance learning student and, most of the time, he worked independently.
“Now I can say that he has learned material from the curriculum and his answers during the exam were informative enough to give him a high grade,” Shvab told the Kyiv Post.
Lesia Bondarchuk, an employee of Ukraine’s Institute of National Memory wrote on Facebook that Kravchuk’s case is a ray of hope for many parents.
Kravchuk was a diligent student who rarely missed classes and performed all the required tasks, Bondarchuk said.
According to Shvab, Kravchuk not only received a degree in history, but also successfully socialized with other students in the university.
“Students like Bohdan need a lot of individual work. At the same time, socialization and communication with peers are essential for them,” Shvab said. “That is why I think inclusive practices should be developed more in the modern system of education.”
