Ukrainian Language Lessons Lend Immediate Support to Instructors in Need

In a situation where it is all too easy to feel hopeless, Tatyana Gershkovich , associate professor of Russian studies, and David Parker , assistant teaching professor of Russian Studies, found a small way to help people impacted by the Russian war in Ukraine. Inspired by a Facebook group of language educators, Gershkovich had the idea to repurpose unused discretionary funds, which had been previously bookmarked for travel and academic conferences, towards Ukrainian lessons with instructors displaced by the war. "This was a fast way to act, a quick way to get funds to fellow language teachers in Ukraine," said Gershkovich. Parker reached out to NovaMova , a local language school he remembered from a summer abroad in Kyiv, Ukraine in 2013. "I wasn't sure what the situation was, but I emailed them and proposed that we could take a small class with several students and professors over Zoom. It was very easy to set up," Parker said. To find participants, Gershkovich and Parker contacted students who had previously taken Russian courses at Carnegie Mellon University as well as the Russian Studies Slack channel.