Five Mile Prairie senior hopes to be surgeon someday

Senior Bogdan Vyshnevskyi is going from homeschooling and Five Mile Prairie School to the University of Washington’s physiology and pre-med program.

“My sister always told me I’d be the doctor of the family,” he said. “I was going against it until I realized I do like it; the aspect of helping somebody who is hurt or in pain. The science behind it is also fascinating.”

Vyshnevskyi intends to become a cardio-thoracic surgeon.

“The cardiovascular system is really complex in some spaces and I think it’s the most fascinating for me,” he said.

Vyshnevskyi and his family moved to Spokane from Ukraine when he was 4 years old, and after living here for 14 years – he’s packing his bags and heading west.

“I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared,” he said. “It’s moving out, which is kind of scary, but I know I have support from my family.”

Despite leaving for school, Vyshnevskyi said he won’t forget Spokane.

“It’s where I grew up, and it’ll always feel like home,” he said.

The summer going into his freshman year of high school, Vyshnevskyi said, he finally understood the importance of schoolwork.

“I had a realization that if I want to get a good job and if I’m going to progress in life I’m going to have to work hard to get those things,” he said. “I was thinking about different jobs, and my parents and older sister were talking to me about my future plans – for a little bit I was thinking about becoming a lawyer but I found biology and medicine really interesting.”

Besides studying biology and chemistry, Vyshnevskyi speaks Russian and French.

“I took French just to learn it,” Vyshnevskyi said. “The structure is somewhat similar to Russian, which is kind of an advantage into learning European languages, but then again – French is this out-there language sometimes.”

He has also shaved off two years of college credit by taking Running Start courses through Spokane Community College.

Vyshnevskyi works at Caruso’s, an Italian restaurant, his first job.

“It’s interesting because it’s this responsibility piece for me,” he said. “If you want to be an adult, you have to grow up and make your own income.”

Caruso’s associate manager Hillary Beller had nothing but praise for Vyshnevskyi.

“He’s super-efficient and a really good multitasker,” she said. “You can always see him hopping from station to station.”

In addition to working quickly, Beller said he’s respectful of management.

“He takes direction very well,” she said. “The little amount he gets.”

Beller’s praise wasn’t limited to his ability to work quickly.

“He’s definitely one of the most genuine people I have ever met,” she said. “His greatest strength is his kindness and how he gets along with everyone.”

When he’s not working at Caruso’s, he’s volunteering at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in the patient-transfer wing.

When he was young, Vyshnevskyi’s older sister helped home-school him, something he did for his younger brother.

“I taught subjects like history and English,” Vyshnevskyi said. “It’s interesting for me to be responsible and teach someone else. When I was younger, my sister had also taught me. It’s kind of traditional in our family now where we pass it down. My sister has always been a role model for me.”