Ukrainian Students Graduating! What’s Next?
Thank you for your continued support of our Ukrainian students. Your generosity has allowed them to earn their Master’s degrees in Psychological Sciences. They will defend their theses in late April/early May. After graduation they are pursuing a variety of educational and professional opportunities. We are doing a final fundraising push to help them transition into their life after graduation from NAU.
Maryna will defend her thesis, The Relationship Between Everyday Creativity, Resilience, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, in late April. She is still fine-tuning her future plans. She has applied for the Teaching Fellow position in the Department of Psychological Sciences for 24/25 academic year. If she is accepted, she will be excited to stay here in Flagstaff for the contract duration. If she is not accepted, she will need to return home, per conditions of her student visa.
Maria will defend her thesis, Living in the War: Living in Two Realities - Grounded Theory, in early May. After completing her Master’s degree, she is excited to continue her academic journey by pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology at the University of North Texas. This decision aligns with her passion for psychology and her desire to contribute to the field through research and practice. As part of this endeavor, she will be relocating to Denton, Texas, along with her two children. Her primary goal during this next phase of her education is to focus on studying Dark Personality traits and developing interventions to enhance empathy within society. By addressing these important aspects of human behavior, she hopes to make meaningful contributions to both science and society.
Illia will defend his thesis, The Role of Personality Traits and Perceptions of Partner Traits in Predicting Relationship Satisfaction, in early May. At the moment he is focused on his current academic tasks, and he will develop a comprehensive plan for the future after graduation. His key goal is to find a job. He plans to use different resources at the university to help with the job search, including Handshake, and talking with members of the faculty to get valuable advice and help. In Ukraine, he worked with children with special educational needs, and he enjoyed it a lot. He would be happy to continue doing what he did in Ukraine and is interested in several vacancies listed in Handshake.
One Year into the Full Scale Invasion of Ukraine - continued support needed for our Ukrainian Students
Thanks in part to your generous donations, three graduate students have successfully joined our graduate program in Psychological Sciences. They have completed classes in statistics, research methods, and specific content courses. They have started developing ideas for their Master’s theses, and they are thriving in our community of faculty and graduate students.
It may not surprise you that our students face ongoing costs, including those for medical insurance and unexpected medical expenses. Thus, we are asking for your continued support.
Happy Ukrainian Independence Day (and update)
Today, we celebrate Ukrainian Independence Day! And we also celebrate YOU! With your support we've met our project goal! Thank you!
Because we know every dollar helps, we are increasing our goal to raise a little more to support our students.
As an update, three students have accepted the invitation to join us. Two students will arrive to Flagstaff on Friday, Maryna and Maria with her two kids. Our third student, Ilia and his spouse are working on their VISAs and they will arrive mid-September.
Maria and her two kids were recently featured in the news, visit this link to learn more about great programs across the world supporting folks like Maria.
Additionally, if you are in Flagstaff today (8.24.22) please stop by today's Flagstaff Downtown Community Market between 4pm-8pm for delicious baked goods and to learn more about our efforts to help Ukrainian graduate students continue their education in Flagstaff. Our team at Northern Arizona University NAU SBS Psychological Sciences will have a table offering cupcakes, banana nut bread muffins, an assortment of cookies! Gluten free options will be available. Today's community market is from 4-8pm (free parking after 5pm) and located downtown at Aspen Avenue & Heritage Square. Hope to see you there.
Two students admitted
As of this week we have admitted two Ukrainian students who were civilians in the regions affected by combat.
The first student, a 26-year old female, has stated that the war has transitioned her research interests to include stress, resilience, posttraumatic stress disorder and posttraumatic growth. She has shared that our “program could help me with mastering professional skills and bringing best practices to Ukraine.”
The second student, a 26-year old male, traveling to the US with his wife, would like to extend his current research and practice on child development. He states that “theories in Ukraine mostly are connected with science of the post-Soviet space,” and he would benefit from the science-based psychology taught in the USA and at NAU’s Department of Psychological Sciences.
