Latest news with #Valeriia
Irish Independent
21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
‘She has a great future' – Wexford student who did work experience with local TD wins national skills competition
The competition, which is run by CareersPortal, encourages Transition Year and Leaving Cert students who have completed work experience as part of their programmes to reflect on the skills which they have developed as well as exploring a future career. The competition, now in its 15th year, is a national event and had over 1,400 secondary school students take part this year. A number of RCS students entered the competition but just two, Colleen Waters (TY) and Valeriia Stepanenko (5th Year), were shortlisted for awards along with 27 students from other schools across the country. The ceremony began with Eimear Sinnott, CEO of CareersPortal, welcoming the students and also thanking them for their insight into the bright future with this generation enthusiastic young people. As part of the competition, the students had to write a diary evaluating their work experience, analysing skills they learned and improved on. They then had to conduct a career investigation into a career of their interest. Finally, they reflected on how the skills they learned during work experience could help them in their future career. Colleen received a highly commendable award in the Transition Year category, as she investigated a career in medicine after her work experience with RCSI Mini Med programme earlier this year, and she was awarded with a certificate and a Bluetooth speaker. Valeriia Stepanenko received the overall winner, ranking first place in the Leaving Certificate competition, as she investigated a career in diplomacy. Valeriia has huge interest in this area and completed her work experience with Wexford TD, George Lawlor, in the Dáil back in March. Valeriia was awarded a trophy and a MacBook Air laptop for first prize. The organisers of the competition commended her project, making a special mention on the fact of how her journey is a powerful example of the competition's impact on real-life aspirations. She was joined by her family in celebrating this momentous achievement at the awards ceremony. Accompanying the two students at the ceremony was the school's Guidance Councillor, Ms. Hayley Miller, who commented: 'It was a pleasure to have two students represent RCS at such a prestigious competition, we are so very proud.' 'It was a very proud moment for us as the girls worked exceptionally hard on finding work experience to suit their interests and got into the Dáil and St. Vincent's Hospital with RCSI because of their hard work and dedication. It was a pleasure to join them and see their work being celebrated on a national stage.' Deputy Lawlor, with whom Valeriia completed her work experience, could not attend the ceremony due to last minute Dáil commitments, however he said he is 'so delighted that Valeriia has received this recognition.' "Valeriia is a great young women with a great future ahead,' Deputy Lawlor added.
Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Shadowing politicians and sailing from the Netherlands to Dublin: winners of Careers Skills competition honoured
The annual competition, run by CareersPortal, is open to students who wish to explore a potential future career. The top 29 students were honoured at a ceremony at the Clock Tower in the Department of Education on Wednesday, alongside their families, teachers and guidance counsellors. Winners were chosen from nearly 1,400 entrants who explored a career and entries were made in English or Irish, either through a written submission or a vlog. Among the students honoured at the event was Valeriia Stepanenko, the first place winner in the Leaving Cert category. Valeriia, whose goal is to become a diplomat, arrived in Ireland from Ukraine in 2022 and has settled in Ramsgrange, Co Wexford. Fluent in English, Ukrainian and Russian, she volunteered with local enterprises and the county council before shadowing Labour Party TD, George Lawlor. "This competition continues to showcase the incredible talent, curiosity, and ambition of Ireland's young people. By exploring real-world careers and reflecting on the skills they've developed, students are not only planning for their futures — they're actively shaping them,' CareersPortal managing director, Eimear Sinnott, said at the event. The nearly 1,400 students who entered the Career Skills Competition explored more than 200 different careers from farming, horticulture and forestry to construction, architecture and property. Brendan Owens of Research Ireland and the European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO) Ireland, said: 'ESERO Ireland is proud to support this award to spotlight a student who brings to light the reality of a career in Space Science, Maths or Physics, busting stereotypes and uncovering the amazing opportunities that lie ahead of young people.' The winners in each of the competition's categories received MacBook Air laptops while second-place winners received iPads and third-place students received Apple Airpods. All commended students received prizes and four schools each received €1,000 to support their career guidance programmes. ADVERTISEMENT Organisers said there was a 'notable rise' in the level of interest in politics among the students who took part, while there was also growing interest in apprenticeships in trades like carpentry and engineering. Healthcare, including medicine and nursing, was also a popular choice. Teaching also remained popular but saw its interest drop compared to previous years.
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih: 3-year-old boy dies after resuscitation efforts fail
The Russians attacked the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with a ballistic missile on the evening of 4 April. Source: Rih, a local news outlet Details: The news outlet said that one of the people killed in the Russian attack was 3-year-old Tymofii. People tried to resuscitate Tymofii, but his mother Valeriia said that he did not make it. The child's parents were nearby at the time. Tymofii's pulse was barely audible. The boy was taken away by an ambulance. People were trying to resuscitate Tymofii. Screenshot: video by Rih At the time of the explosion, Tymofii and his grandmother were returning home from the playground. His mother Valeriia was at home at the time, but after the attack, she immediately ran outside to her family. "Tymofiiko [derivative of Tymofii - ed.] was a very energetic child, fascinated by space and space rockets. He loved to collect ladybirds and various beetles," Valeriia recalls. Background: On the evening of 4 April, the Russians launched a ballistic missile attack on Kryvyi Rih. The Prosecutor General's Office reported that 18 people had been killed, including nine children. In total, 61 people were injured in the attack, including 12 children. Later, the Russians attacked the city again. A fire broke out in a residential area. The fire engulfed houses and infrastructure facilities. Five people were reported injured and one killed – a woman burned to death in a house hit by a Shahed drone. Local authorities have declared three days of mourning from Monday to Wednesday – on 7, 8 and 9 April – to commemorate those killed in the attack. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Yahoo
Mariupol defender's dream comes true as Ukrainian polar explorers fly Azov flag in Antarctica
Ukrainian polar explorers have raised the flag of the Azov National Guard Brigade near the Akademik Vernadsky station on Galindez Island. In doing so, members of the 29th Antarctic expedition have honoured Ukrainian troops and fulfilled the dream of Mariupol defender Valeriia "Nava" Subotina. Source: Ukraine's National Antarctic Scientific Centre Details: The Centre noted that Nava, a defender of Mariupol, had written to the polar explorers in May 2022 while she was at the Azovstal Steelworks, surrounded by Russian troops. At that time, she expressed her desire to go to Antarctica for the winter, which became an additional motivation for her to survive in Russian captivity. Valeriia came back to Ukraine in April 2023, and in December 2024, she travelled to Antarctica with her sister-in-arms, Mariia "Herda" Chekh. The Ukrainian defenders travelled to the icy continent on a cruise ship, but due to unfavourable weather conditions, they were unable to visit the Akademik Vernadsky station. The polar explorers explained that the ship was caught in a severe storm a few dozen kilometres from the Ukrainian research base, prompting the captain to turn the boat back. "That day, we at the centre, the polar explorers at the station and Nava and Herda were very upset. But we promised that we would make every effort to get them to Vernadsky in the future. And shortly, we will fulfil one of the main missions of their trip: we will raise the Azov flag over the station," said Yevhen Dykyi, Director of the National Antarctic Scientific Centre. The Azov flag was brought to the station by members of the seasonal Ukrainian expedition. It was hoisted on the flagpole by polar explorer Yurii Lyshenko, who, despite being seriously injured at the front, came back to Antarctica. "Although we were upset that we didn't make it to the station, I see this as optimistic: it means this journey is still ahead. Meanwhile, when we got back to duty, our flag did reach Vernadsky and flew over it. This is another way to remind the world about the war in Ukraine and our unbreakable spirit," Nava shared her impressions. Earlier, we shared the love story of Azov soldiers Valeriia and Andrii Subotin, who got married at Azovstal just days before Andrii was killed in action. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Yahoo
Murder conviction in killing of Ukrainian girl Valeriia in Germany
A 37-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Valeriia, a nine-year-old girl from Ukraine, who was killed in early June 2024 in a forest west of Dresden, the court in Chemnitz announced on Friday. The verdict against the defendant, a Moldovan citizen, was handed down on the fourth day of the trial. The man is the ex-partner of the victim's mother. The girl's disappearance, and the investigation into her death after the discovery of her body, drew extensive media coverage and attention in Germany. The court also ruled that the conviction carries a particularly serious level of guilt, a legal determination that makes it extremely unlikely that the man would receive early release after 15 years, as is generally common. The Ukrainian woman, who is divorced from the girl's father, had fled to Germany with her children before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. They found a new home in the eastern German town of Döbeln, where she began a brief relationship with the now 37-year-old killer. On June 3 last year, Valeriia disappeared on her way to school. For days, hundreds of police officers searched for the child with the help of divers, drones and dogs. Just over a week later, they found the body in a forest around four kilometres from the apartment. A forensic pathologist found sludge everywhere in the girl's airways, right down to her windpipe and bronchial tubes, and testified in court that she had suffocated. Representatives for Valeriia's mother and father, who took part in the proceedings as joint plaintiffs alongside prosecutors, had called for life imprisonment. The man's defence attorney had pleaded for a manslaughter conviction.
