GMU Alumni Wall of Fame Unveiled at Gdynia School
On Thursday 9th February 2023, a GMU Alumni Wall of Fame was unveiled at the Meritorious People of the Sea 1st Academic Secondary School in Gdynia. Included in the gallery are 20 portraits and biographies of Ship Captains and Officer Mechanics, all of them graduates of the Maritime School - the predecessor to Gdynia Maritime University. The Wall of Fame was inspired by the recently released Biographical Dictionary of Graduates of the Maritime School in Tczew 1922-1930, and Biographical Dictionary of Graduates of the State Maritime School in Gdynia 1931-1939.
- Conversations with the authors Małgorzata Sokołowska and Joanna Stasiak, as well as the amazing biographies of these graduates, inspired me to create this exhibition - commented the Director of the 1st Academic Secondary School, Lidia Łączyńska.
The event was celebrated by a performance of the folk song “Morze, moje morze” [oh dear sea of mine], and a sketch and rendition of the song “Marynarska wiara” [naval faith], written by Maritime School Graduate (1924), which is still widely sung to this day.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Major of Gdynia Bartosz Bartoszewicz, Director of the Navy Museum Tomasz Miegon, Krzysztof Nowakowski of the Polish Naval Academy, and representatives of other local schools. In attendance from GMU were Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Navigation Dr Adam Kaizer, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Marine Engineering Robert Starosta, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering Piotr Jankowski, Director of the Ship Management and Maritime Practices Department Dr and Master Mariner Bogumił Łączyński, Chair of the Association of Maritime School Graduates Master Mariner Piotr Trzebuchowski, Secretary of the Association of Master Mariners Master Mariner Dariusz Terech, Chair of the Association of Senior Marine Mechanic Officers Lechosław Bar, Chair of the Association of Ship Electrical Engineer Officers Bolesław Grzemski, and Chair of the Society of Friends of Dar Pomorza Stefan Krella. Family members of those featured in the Wall of Fame also attended.
With more hallways in the School set to be decorated with further galleries, the wall of fame of the meritorious persons of the sea will gradually grow, and with it, the collective memory of them will grow stronger.
