After the Russian attack upended the daily lives of millions of Ukrainians, including college students, DePaul University partnered with Ukrainian Catholic University and other higher education institutions in the region to enroll more than 100 Ukrainian college students in the Chicago university’s online courses this spring quarter.
“All in all, it’s not so bad here right now. It’s more dangerous in Chernihiv and Odesa. These cities are under bombs and missiles,” Kekukh said. “I was in my DePaul class ... as soon as I heard the explosions outside, I left the Zoom meeting and went to the basement as well,” Haiduchok said. “It gave me so much joy. … I was super scared to go there, because I had anxiety based on the idea that the air siren will catch me while I would be on my way,” said Haiduchok, one of 100 Ukrainian students enrolled in DePaul University’s virtual classrooms.
“I strongly believe in my nation, in our people. This brings me hope and a little bit of peace,” said Kekukh, who is studying from temporary housing at an apartment in Lviv, where she arrived recently after she and her parents abruptly left their home in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in February. While the university’s 2,100 students were also able to continue their programs through online courses at the university, Sherengovsky said the service learning projects are likely to provide students with experiences that will prove more valuable than traditional lessons learned in the classroom.