About Me

Hello, my name is Victoria Ivanishchak, and I am a senior at Gulf Coast High School. I am Ukrainian, born in Italy, and I lived my whole life in Ukraine before moving to the U.S. six years ago. I lived in Missouri for four years and now in Naples, Florida. I speak four languages: Ukrainian, Russian, English, and Italian.   I graduated from a six-year music school in Ukraine, where I learned singing and guitar. I have also been dancing since I was 4 years old. Moving to the USA was hard — a new language, new people — I had to start over again after everything I had built there. Missouri was really stressful, and I had no idea where to go or what to start, so I began playing soccer and running track as a way to start making connections and finding my place.   Moving to Naples, Florida, has fully transformed my life in the USA. Since coming here, I started playing tennis, and I also became President of the Film/Media Club. Leading this club has been one of my proudest roles — last year, all of our members earned IMDb credits, and we even attended the Palm Beach Student Showcase of Film, where we met well-known figures from the industry.   In my church, I am responsible for organizing concerts and events for children. I sing there myself and involve kids in singing, dancing, reading poems, and learning about Ukrainian culture. This role has taught me responsibility, creativity, and the importance of keeping traditions alive.   Outside of school and church, I also did a lot of volunteering with kids at beach camps, helping them learn, stay active, and enjoy their time together. These experiences with children — in church, at camps, and through events — have shaped me into a leader who loves to build community and inspire others.   Most importantly , I pursued my passion for acting and modeling. I joined Barbizon Modeling & Acting School, where I earned every award and scholarship possible. This winter, I will participate in a competition in Atlanta, GA, where I will be exposed to hundreds of agents and producers. I will model, act, and finally sing — since singing has always been a huge part of me.   Along with my passion for the arts, I’ve grown deeply interested in business, taking every available class throughout high school and competing at both the district and FGCU level. My goal this year is to launch my own business that will solve people’s issues, because helping people is a huge part of me. Southwest Florida CEO is the greatest opportunity I could ask for — after all those years in high school trying to get somewhere, my strategy of knocking on every door works! I will do absolutely everything I can to become successful. I am still thinking about which University I should pick, because I believe that CEO program can fully change my life.    My dream is to make my family proud and give them the life they deserve — to be able to have anything they ever wanted. They have worked so much throughout their lifetime and they deserve every star from the sky.  Moving into a whole different world after having everything, just for me, is something that only a very small percent of people can do.