Iryna Zenyuk ’08AE is one busy, and world-traveled, freshman. Late last fall, she spent time in Greece and Southern California. Fun in the sun? More like long hours in a quiet room with intense people bent over tables. Welcome to the world of a chess champion. Rated an “expert” player—she plans to be “master” by this summer—Zenyuk was the sole U.S. representative at the 2004 World Youth Chess Championship, held in Crete, where she tied for No. 15 in the under-18 category. At the U.S. Chess Championships, held in San Diego, she was one of 64 of the nation’s chess champions who competed for more than $250,000 in cash and prizes. She’s ranked No. 13 in the U.S. women’s category (by international ratings) and in the top 30 in U.S. women’s category (by U.S. standards).

Taught chess by her grandfather in her native Ukraine, Zenyuk has been competing worldwide since she was 8. Preparation for a match can last six hours a day, reading about great matches and studying different parts of a game. When she’s not hitting the chess books or board, she and her laptop are at NYU-Poly, where she is majoring in aerospace engineering and looking forward to a career that involves aircraft or space shuttles.