Viktoriya Kornishyna

Height: 5’4
Hometown: Brooks, AB
Languages: English, Ukranian
Occupation: Student at University of Lethbridge (Kinesiology, Bachelor of Arts)

Viktoriya Kornishyna was born in the city of Poltava, Ukraine, and was raised in Brooks, Alberta, Canada. She moved with her family when she was four years old and has been in Canada for 14 years. Viktoriya is an 18-year-old student working to achieve her Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology at the University of Lethbridge.

Viktoriya has been dancing since age 6 and has had the opportunity to share her passion with young dancers by becoming a teacher, friend, and leader. Her experience in dance pushed her to study kinesiology, specifically to work with young athletes and help them recover and prevent injuries, properly execute movements, and how to work through mental health in the sports community.

Viktoriya wants to be Miss Universe Canada to show young people that they are worth so much more than the opinions of society. You are given one life and one body, you should love who you are and not change to be accepted by others. It is the heart that shines through beauty.

What are your interests and what do you enjoy doing the most?

I enjoy spending my time doing dance, hiking, yoga, playing piano and guitar, reading, and being outside.

List any special training you have had (music, art, drama, dance, etc.)

I have 12 years of training in Dance in the following styles, acrobatic arts, jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, musical theatre, contemporary, and pointe.

In what sports, if any, have you participated?

I have participated in track and field, taekwondo, swimming, and paddle boarding.

Name one person, other than your parents, who has had the most influence on your life. Why?

Selena Gomez, an actress and singer, who I have been looking up too, as a child because she is truly authentically herself, even through the hate and negativity sent in her direction she still loves who she is, when others don’t. She believes in natural beauty and being confident in who you are and that we shouldn’t change who we are to make others happy.

What is your proudest personal accomplishment (other than participating in this pageant)?

My proudest personal accomplishment would be that I saved my best friend from committing suicide for many years. I was always with her in her darkest of times and helped her to overcome her thoughts and her barriers to living a normal, happy life. She is now living happily with her partner and works a stable job in Canada. After this I feel that I can help more people to a joyful life.

What is the most interesting or unique thing that has ever happened to you and/or what is the most interesting thing about you?

I have had hip dysplasia since I was born and my family was told that I would never be able to do any sports or walk properly. That I would have one leg longer than the other so I would be dragging my leg as I walked.

What is your career ambition and what are you doing or plan to do to accomplish that goal?

My career ambition is to help athletes of all ages with injury recoveries in physiotherapy. I am studying at the University of Lethbridge to expand my knowledge on sports and athletic behaviours, movements, recoveries, and injury prevention in Kinesiology.

What would be your “dream job” in life?

My “dream job” in life is to help young kids fulfill their dreams no matter the physical barriers they face.

Describe where you were raised and what your childhood was like.

I was born in Poltava, Ukraine where we lived very poorly in the lower class. My parents worked very hard but we hardly survived. They tried to give me a better life than they did so my father found a job in Canada. Since we had no money, my father took lots of mortgages to buy a ticket to Canada, and when he earned enough money at his job, he brought my mom and I to live with him when I was four years old. I was then raised in Brooks, AB. I was an only child until 9 years old when my brother was born. I had little amount of friends throughout my childhood and my parents were always working to put me into sports, so I learnt how to enjoy my own company. My parents were very strict about my behaviours and actions growing up which resulted in positive and negative outcomes. I am fortunate to have experienced so many adventures in my life whether they were good or bad. I am thankful for the opportunities I have now.

List any interesting or unusual jobs you may have had.

My first job when I was very young, my neighbours would ask me to go over and feed their animals in their house while they were on vacation. They told me to climb through the pet door to get inside.

I was 13 when I got my first summer job delivering newspapers on my bike to my neighbourhood.

I was also a dance teacher for five years during my time in dance. I taught ages three and above, so while I was teaching I also had to help them through tantrums and any accidents that happened during the class. I had to make sure the dancers felt safe, and trusted in me to not only be there teacher but their friend and someone they can look up to.

List any volunteering you have done.

I was a volunteer as a dance teacher assistance, I helped sell Christmas trees to the Brooks community, I was a youth guide for an event for kids in our Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooks, and I was a volunteer for family day in an event called ‘play day’, where I had to belay at a rock climbing wall at my university for kids, teenagers and adults of all ages. I also volunteered for many different events in the Brooks community.

What is your most unusual talent?

My unusual talent is that I can do a belly roll or undulation like belly dancers do in their performances. I have never practiced or learned how to do it, it came naturally.

Where is the most interesting place you have been to?

On one of our families trips we drove to Nelson in British Columbia, and on the way there, on the east shore of Kootenay Lake, near Boswell, British Columbia, we were mesmerized by a glass house that was built entirely from 500,000 glass bottles in 1952 by David H. Brown. This was memorable because to know that David Brown had a goal and worked hard to plan and take action to create something beautiful is truly wonderful.

What do you hope to be doing in ten years?

In ten years I would have a degree in Kinesiology and I hope to be working with young kids and athletes with injury recoveries, and the mental side of sports, as well as starting a family of my own.

Is there anything you would like to add that we haven’t asked?

I am here because I would like to show every single girl around the world that they are worth so much more than the standards of society. Your looks are not what define you, others opinions do not define you, it is your heart that shines through your beauty.