Long-Term and Effective Cooperation of TNMU with Dale Shumka Family

For four years, the family of Hryhorii and Yevdokia Shumka, who live in Canada, have been supporting and assisting the persistent and successful students of the Research and Training Institute of Nursing of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University.

The hard-working and committed Hryhorii Shumka immigrated to Canada from Galicia in 1906. After experiencing difficulties of integration into a new life abroad he settled in a lively Ukrainian community in Mander, Alberta. His caring and tender wife, Yevdokiya Shumka (Bezzubiak), was born in Beaver Lake, in the northwestern Canada, shortly after her parents emigrated from the village of Bila in 1900. Evdokia and Hryhorii met and later married in Mandara, where they had sons Joseph, Edward, Leslie, daughters Phyllis and Marion. In the early 1930s, during the global economic crisis that destroyed thousands of businesses, the family lost their business of selling agricultural equipment, and at the beginning of World War II moved to Vancouver (British Columbia), which allowed Hryhorii to mend his business. It taught the family to never give up, to be optimistic, to work hard and to take any chance.

Hryhorii easily found comrades, he was loved and respected. Yevdokia was friendly with everyone, and many people came to her to discuss their problems and find an advice. She enjoyed being a housewife and took every effort for her family to have a cozy home, a comfortable life, and her pastries were so delicious that her family and friends were looking forward to visit them. Hryhorii and Yevdokia had a tradition – to unite all relatives every Sunday and invite friends to dinner treating everyone with Ukrainian traditional dishes.

The family soon had a sixth child, a son, Dale. Every day the boy saw the persistence of his parents, their commitment, love of life, friendliness and desire to help people. With a clearly formed personal position, family values ​​and world views, the young man built his own life. Those values, set since childhood, were the foundation, which the patron Dale Shumka, who is generous in good deeds, guides in his life.

As a result of many years of cooperation with MacEwan University, Edmonton, starting from 2015, teachers and students from Canada came to I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University to share their experience, organize Canadian-Ukrainian courses, conduct grants. Khrystyna Shumka, the instructor-methodologist of the Department of Nursing, who was impressed with the sincerity and hospitality of the university and Ternopil, visited us too. After coming back to Canada, Khrystyna told Dale Shumka about her trip to Ukraine, communications with students, about their lives and unwavering desire to study.

“From time to time, it is necessary to remind students that talented and successful people were also newcomers once, they worked hard, overcame obstacles, met people who believed in them. Dale Shumka, a tireless man, believes in our paramedic and nursing students. He has a sincere desire to help the greatest treasure of Ukraine – our students. We believe that the victory and the deserved award will be a trigger for our grant-holders, a valuable gift for their further development. Your achievements are a pride and joy for us,” said Professor Svitlana Yastremska, the Director of the Research and Training Institute of Nursing of TNMU.

Youth is a time of development of worldview principles and life guidelines, time to study, spontaneous travels, festivals, maximalism in thoughts and the first challenges. The most important thing is to discover and develop those unique personal talents.  If they bring a material reward as well as personal satisfaction, a young person will be able to be self-fulfilled, successful person. A person will succeed in any efforts if there are people who believe in and support you. Dale Shumka and Marnie Shumka are such people for our students: they initiated a personal scholarship of Dale’s parents Hryhorii and Yevdokia Shumka, as well as their son and daughter-in-law Matthew and Khrystyna Shumka, who help implement it.

During 2017-2020, 18 students of the Nursing specialty were Hryhorii and Yevdokia Shumka scholarship holders: Khrystyna Kramarenko (2017-2021 years of study), Liudmyla Verheles (2017-2021 years of study), Olha Krutsko (2015-2019 years of study), Olha Chernyk (2018-2022 years of study), Uliana Habrukh (2017-2019 years of study), Iryna Ambroziak (2016-2020 years of study), Liudmyla Dovban (2017-2019 years of study), Lilia Hnativ (2017- 2021 years of study), Zoriana Kulmatytska (2017-2021 years of study), Khrystyna Voloshchuk (2017-20212021 years of study), Sofia Bontsal (2016-2020 years of study), Olha Zdyrko (2015-2019 years of study), Maria Stepova (2017- 2019 years of study), Alla Lutsyshyn (2016-2020 years of study), Valeria Titorchuk (2015-2019 years of study), Maria Vaitsikhovska (2019-2023 years of study), Viktoria Pereima (2019-2023 years of study), Alina Verkhola (2018- 2022 years of study), and two paramedic students: Dmytro Dudnyk (2019-2021 years of study) and Nazar Kovalchuk (2019-2022 years of study).

Professor Svitlana Yastremska also noted that last year the criteria for award holders changed somewhat. These were usually learning results, research, volunteering, culture and social work of young people.

“We understand that assistance and support during the COVID-19 pandemic is very important. That is why Dale Shumka and his family decided to take into account financial situation of students’ families when choosing the award holders,” added Svitlana Oleksandrivna.

During the meeting of the Academic Board of I. Horbachevsky Ternopil National Medical University on May 25, 2021, the personal scholarships of Hryhorii and Yevdokia Shumka were awarded. The award holders were Alina Marushchak (MBv-141), Anna Subotenko (MBv-141), Dmytro Bubenchyk (PBv-131) and Anastasia Prokhorenko (PBv-132), the students of the Research and Training Institute of Nursing.

“The profession of a nurse, in my opinion, is really needed all over the world; people of this profession have not only financial but also moral satisfaction, because their work provides relief, care and support to patients,” says Anna Subotenko, a student of the group MBv-141. “I am grateful to Mr. Dale and his family for recognizing our work, support and assistance, and wish them good health, inexhaustible energy and inspiration, family comfort, well-being and happiness.”

Dmytro Bubenchyk, a paramedic and a student of the group PBv-131, addressed Dale Shumka with sincerity and gratitude: “In my opinion, it is impossible to change the world other than through people: ourselves, others and those who believe in something we share. It seems to me that Mr. Dale’s family doesn’t even fully understand how valuable their gifts and faith in our talents are for us. He and his parents proved by their work that everything is possible: we can achieve what we desire, no matter how difficult it may be at the beginning of the journey. Your success is valuable not only for your relatives, but also for us. Thank you for sharing a part of your soul.”