IN THE FUTURE, I WOULD LIKE TO HELP STUDENTS IN THE SAME WAY I’VE BEEN HELPED.
OLEKSANDRA NAHORNA
IN THE FUTURE, I WOULD LIKE TO HELP STUDENTS IN THE SAME WAY I’VE BEEN HELPED.
OLEKSANDRA NAHORNA
CONTINUING HER STUDIES
DISRUPTED BY WAR
Waking to the terrifying sound of bombing close to her home in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, Oleksandra Nahorna knew her life would never be the same.
“It was absolutely horrible,” she said. “I experienced a whole range of emotions that morning.”
Within a month, the master’s student in business and financial economics at the Kyiv School of Economics fled for Poland along with her mother, dog and little else.
Not knowing whether she’d be able to continue her program in Kyiv, Oleksandra was grateful to learn about the University of Waterloo’s Summer Program for Students from Ukraine, supported by the Global Emergency Student Relief Fund.
The fund ensures students from around the world whose education has been disrupted by conflict, war, changing political environments or natural disasters are able to continue their studies at Waterloo. Financial gifts help cover expenses such as tuition, academic activities including English as a Second Language courses and more.
Supported by the fund, Oleksandra came on her own from Poland to Waterloo in May 2022 and spent four months working on an artificial intelligence internship with Vijay Ganesh, co-director of Waterloo’s AI Institute.
In September 2022, she began working on her master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at Waterloo, focusing on Central Bank Digital Currency and how it can be more broadly used in everyday life.
Oleksandra is thankful for the assistance she has received from the University and donors to the Global Emergency Student Relief Fund.
One of those donors is Sarah Tolmie, a professor in Waterloo’s English department, who wants to make sure that Ukrainian students can continue their studies in safe conditions.
“I contribute to women’s shelters and the Food Bank of Waterloo Region for the community here, and to UNHCR internationally, but this fund allows me to help out individuals who are known and named, and who are coming here to keep studying during this specific crisis,” said Sarah who has Ukrainian family. “It’s a bit more personal.”
Instead of making a one-time gift, Sarah said she donates monthly to “keep a steady income in the fund for students.”
This past spring, Oleksandra was able to finish her graduate degree from the Kyiv School of Economics through online classes that often began at two or three in the morning Waterloo time.
After completing her Waterloo master’s program, Oleksandra is considering undertaking a doctorate. If she does, her first choice of schools would be Waterloo.
“I’ve been given so much by the University and the local community,” she said.
With her mother now living with a sponsor family in Ontario, Oleksandra would like to become a Canadian citizen and give back to both this country and Ukraine through her research and support.
“I want to do more and figure out how I can contribute to the University and the Global Emergency Student Relief Fund,” she said. “In the future, I would like to help students in the same way I’ve been helped.”
Waking to the terrifying sound of bombing close to her home in Kyiv on February 24, 2022, Oleksandra Nahorna knew her life would never be the same.
“It was absolutely horrible,” she said. “I experienced a whole range of emotions that morning.”
Within a month, the master’s student in business and financial economics at the Kyiv School of Economics fled for Poland along with her mother, dog and little else.
Not knowing whether she’d be able to continue her program in Kyiv, Oleksandra was grateful to learn about the University of Waterloo’s Summer Program for Students from Ukraine, supported by the Global Emergency Student Relief Fund.
The fund ensures students from around the world whose education has been disrupted by conflict, war, changing political environments or natural disasters are able to continue their studies at Waterloo. Financial gifts help cover expenses such as tuition, academic activities including English as a Second Language courses and more.
Supported by the fund, Oleksandra came on her own from Poland to Waterloo in May 2022 and spent four months working on an artificial intelligence internship with Vijay Ganesh, co-director of Waterloo’s AI Institute.
In September 2022, she began working on her master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at Waterloo, focusing on Central Bank Digital Currency and how it can be more broadly used in everyday life.
Oleksandra is thankful for the assistance she has received from the University and donors to the Global Emergency Student Relief Fund.
One of those donors is Sarah Tolmie, a professor in Waterloo’s English department, who wants to make sure that Ukrainian students can continue their studies in safe conditions.
“I contribute to women’s shelters and the Food Bank of Waterloo Region for the community here, and to UNHCR internationally, but this fund allows me to help out individuals who are known and named, and who are coming here to keep studying during this specific crisis,” said Sarah who has Ukrainian family. “It’s a bit more personal.”
Instead of making a one-time gift, Sarah said she donates monthly to “keep a steady income in the fund for students and administrators.”
This past spring, Oleksandra was able to finish her graduate degree from the Kyiv School of Economics through online classes that often began at two or three in the morning Waterloo time.
After completing her Waterloo master’s program, Oleksandra is considering undertaking a doctorate. If she does, her first choice of schools would be Waterloo.
“I’ve been given so much by the University and the local community,” she said.
With her mother now living with a sponsor family in Ontario, Oleksandra would like to become a Canadian citizen and give back to both this country and Ukraine through her research and support.
“I want to do more and figure out how I can contribute to the University and the Global Emergency Student Relief Fund,” she said. “In the future, I would like to help students in the same way I’ve been helped.”
