Graduates of Kyiv’s School No. 225 and their parents make decisions

Fedir SODOL, eleventh grader:

My parents divorced when I was still a child. For that reason I cooked from childhood while my mother was at work. Thus this passion continued and when I lived with my father I finished my studies and now I am already a class-three pastry chef. Experience in a restaurant followed and I received a diploma. I now plan to enter an institute connected with cooking. This is my choice.

Yury SODOL, construction worker:

I can tell you a short joke on the subject. The son of a colonel asks, “Father, will I be a colonel when I grow up?”

“Yes son.”

“And a general?”

“No son. The general has a son of his own.”

There you go. Now everything depends on the amount of money in your pocket. But in principle my son already has a profession: a cook of European cuisine. As they say, “War or no war, dinner always comes on time.” With that kind of profession you will always be satisfied and able to feed your family. When I was young, nobody helped me choose my career, I graduated my technical institute as a joiner. Today I know nine building trades.

Oksana KUDINA, eleventh grader:

Above all I have to like my profession, but I’m not indifferent to the opinion of my parents. I still haven’t finally decided, but my future career will be connected with the humanities. But its vital that, starting second year, I should work to get a second education in law. I consider that this will help me be more confident later.

Viktor KUDIN, lawyer:

The army exerted an influence on my choice of career. After my service the desire to participate in the sphere of jurisprudence arose in me. My parents didn’t play a big role in my choice of profession. As far as my daughter is concerned, I naturally won’t put any pressure on her. But my wife’s and my job is to point out directions and leave the final choice to her. Of course, I wouldn’t be against her studying law, because at the present time it’s a profession that’s needed to the highest degree, rendering legal help to the population.

Anna ALMASHY, class 11-B:

I still don’t know exactly where I will study, but most likely I will follow in my mother’s footsteps. I want to become a teacher of English for the lower classes. I am really interested in talking with young children and receiving some kind of information from them. I think it would be very interesting to see how they grow up, how their appearance changes, how their characters change. I think it’s interesting for the teacher to observe the development of their students from the fifth to the eleventh grades. Of course, it’s a thankless profession, but I’ll probably choose it all the same. I do have some misgivings about low teacher’s pay, but I hope that with time the situation will change for the better.

Hanna ALMASHY, grade school teacher:

I’ll start with how my parents guided me when I graduated. It turned out that our street in the village was made up of teachers. Seeing their work I also followed this path. My parents got accustomed to the idea and said, “For a woman it’s not bad work.” Because of that I work here now, and my child is always with me. We go to school together. In choosing a profession for my daughter, we looked at several guidebooks and we went to the university on the open day. We’ll try to get in. I will help my daughter in her studies in every way possible, but the final word lies with her. She must decide in accordance with what she feels inside. If she chooses my path, it wouldn’t be bad. Naturally though the material rewards of this profession are depressing.

Heorhy IVANOV, class 11-B:

I am going to enter the faculty of international relations at the Slavic University. I have already been working for two years: at first in a youth newspaper, and then I moved on to television, where I work in the advertising department. In the long term I would like to continue my work in the advertising industry, I like the offscreen television world so much. If everything works out I’ll continue in my favorite business.

Svitlana IVANOVA, choreographer:

From childhood I was involved in figure skating, and with this I was already bound to the choice of my eventual profession. My parents simply helped me to uncover my preferences, and in principle I already knew as a child what I would do for the rest of my life. My passion turned into my profession. But I tried to endow my own child with harmonious development, because art puts a positive stamp on the character of a person. And my child already looks on the world differently. I didn’t want him to become a choreographer. Why? Because, unfortunately, in our country the profession is not very much in demand. But, all the same, he did spend six years studying dance and then music. He finished music school in trumpet and saophone, and this helped him to develop. But he chose his own path himself and now works in television and advertising. My task, like every parent, is to help my child discover and find himself. If a person chooses a profession for himself at the direction of his parents it can turn into a tragedy – a job you don’t like can cause dissatisfaction with yourself and the world. As they say: “Happiness is when a person leaves for work with joy and comes home again satisfied.”

Kateryna TSYHANOK, class 11-A:

Above all my future profession must be well paid. I want to study economics or to become a customs manager. Here as well as good remuneration, there are also links with other countries, and this provides great opportunities for the future.

Liudmyla TSYHANOK, biologist:

When I was still a child I took part in a biological study group and I then entered the biology department. Everyone knows about the colossal role of biology and its application. This was my best choice. Now my daughter is wavering between several professions. Of course I would like it if she continued my work, because I consider that the future will depend on biology. At the moment I work in the laboratory of the Institute of Microbiology in accordance with my specialization but because of the low salary I also do some work on the side in a medical institute. If I happened to have the choice to choose one thing, I would, of course, pick up the teaching profession, as it would be very interesting for me to discuss things with the students.