On Saturday, May 31, 2025, the courtyard near the main building of the Belarusian National Technical University was filled with laughter and tears of nostalgia. The fact is that on this day, one could meet the BNTU graduates of 1985 here. We could not stay away from such a touching event and talked to the graduates of the Belarusian Polytechnic Institute - that was the name of the Polytechnic back then, as well as with the representatives of the BNTU who took part in the event.
The event's heroes studied at the Faculty of Road Construction (now the Faculty of Transport Communications). Of course, their fates were different, as evidenced by the fact that graduates came from Mongolia, America, Germany, and Russia for this meeting. Despite the long distances, they are still happy to meet every five years to remember their student years and meet those with whom they were lucky enough to share them.
Thus, Sergei Kotlyar, who studied in the specialty "highways", said that he always looks forward to this event with special warmth, because studying at Polytechnic brought him not only a good education, but also valuable life lessons.
– I worked for one organization for all 40 years, and I was the chief engineer for 24 of them. I was even awarded the title of “Honored Road Builder of the Republic of Belarus”. Now I am retired and work as a foreman. I can say that the time I spent at BPI was wonderful: there were construction teams, thanks to which I traveled to different cities, and participation in the dance group “Friendship”. I even managed to earn money! Student years were a wonderful time that brought me many warm memories and, most importantly, friends.
As Polytechnic students note, the distances they had to travel to visit their alma mater are nothing compared to what BPI brought into their lives.
– I traveled here all day from Veliky Novgorod to see my classmates. Of course, I want to remember my youth and find out how everything turned out for our guys. I often say: "We need to add life to years, not years to life." You know, today's meeting has just added life - so much positivity and smiles in the courtyard of BNTU alone. I will try to come here again, - noted graduate Larisa Gerasimova.
Viktor Galkin, who studied in the specialty “bridges and tunnels,” spoke with particular warmth about the educational process and the heights he and his friends managed to achieve after graduation.
– We worked in many places, saw many things. Tens of kilometers of bridges and pedestrian crossings. Very bright memories of our teachers and classmates. I am grateful to everyone.
They say that friendships that start at university are the strongest. Well, everyone has a different opinion about this statement, because everything depends on the person. However, the graduates of group 114310 can be a good positive example. Tamara Andreychikova came from Pskov especially for this meeting. Despite the fact that after graduation the girls always kept in touch, she noted great excitement due to the meeting after a long separation. Her words were supported by her classmate and former roommate in the dormitory Natalia Ladutko.
– Our group was very friendly. We have always celebrated each other’s birthdays, and we still do. In general, we keep in touch – we are always in touch with each other, as much as possible. We don’t visit each other because of the long distance, but when someone is in Minsk, we always meet. Recently, for example, we went to the Oktyabr cinema together. These are wonderful meetings, for which you need to come. At such moments, you get the feeling that those 40 years after graduation never happened, that only yesterday we took higher mathematics in the main building with our active class monitor.
Later, the same "active class monitor" Yanina Dolmatskaya joined the conversation. She shared her memories of the teachers and said that they had left a special mark on her life, not only by passing on professional knowledge, but also by teaching important lessons that made her a good person.
– These years were very valuable for me – the people I met along the way, I met for a reason. What a person our Strizhevsky Vaclav Antonovich was! “Let’s sing! Let’s go to a clean-up day!” And all with the right attitude. I have a son, who, by the way, also graduated from our faculty, and even a grandson. I teach them all the same attitude to work and life. Now there is a song “What have you done for the Motherland?”, and I completely agree with it: some want to go to another country, saying that it’s good there. But I want to make sure that my children, my grandchildren and our girls will be well in our country.
The graduates have a long road behind them, and we asked them to share their advice for those who are just getting higher education and who still have a whole life ahead of them. In response to this question, the friends smiled and answered almost in one voice:
– Do not betray each other and be kind, sincere, humane and honest. First of all, be honest with yourself: get knowledge on your own, don't give up, go ahead and work on yourself. Honestly and diligently.
Student life is a time to get to know yourself and the world around you. Time spent at the university leaves a big imprint on the life of every person, and this is what was discussed at BNTU on Saturday. We wish graduates to meet each other within the walls of the Polytechnic University more than once, and the Polytechnic University to graduate more than one generation of worthy specialists.
