Geneseo professor works to bring Ukrainian refugee students to American colleges

SUNY Geneseo Associate Professor of Art History Alla Myzelev is raising awareness for Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country following the invasion by Russia and attempting to connect Ukrainian college students with American colleges, to finish their degrees. 

Myzelev said that her feeling of helplessness prompted her to do what she could to help Ukrainian refugees in any way she could. 

She said, “because it feels so hopeless from here, I tried many different things. My friend and I were also trying to raise awareness about the lack of medical supplies in Ukraine, especially in the territories that had been occupied or that came under heavy shelling. There are several places across the United States that gather medical supplies and ship them to Ukraine independently of the Red Cross and organizations like that, so yeah, [efforts to aid Ukraine have] been nonstop. It's been very intense and I'm far from alone. There are people on campus and there are a couple people from the Geneseo community in the village that are doing the same thing.”

She said that her current goal is giving Ukrainian college students the chance to finish their degree by enrolling as an international student in American colleges, including SUNY Geneseo. 

“One of the things that I'm trying to do now is help students who were affected by the war in Ukraine to transfer to American or Canadian universities or otherwise somehow continue their education from where they are in a meaningful way,” Myzelev said. 

According to Myzelev, the Ukrainian students would stay in the United States or Canada until they are finished with their degree, and travel back to Ukraine when it is safe to do so. She hopes that some students could be accepted by Geneseo.

“I think that if they were accepted, they would go stay until they get their degrees, because most countries that accept refugees now will give them a visa for 18 months. And then after that, obviously, nobody knows if Ukraine will be safe. Most students would like to go back home eventually, but they just don't know when.”

According to Myzelev, admitting refugee students to Geneseo would mean that they would be required to pay international student tuition, which would likely prove difficult for them. In collaboration with the Office of Admissions and the Office of College Advancement, Myzelev is working towards organizing a fundraiser or scholarship for students affected by the Russian invasion. 

“There’s a group of us that trying to figure out ways to help as a campus, and one of the issues of transferring here is the fact that these students don't have the means to pay for their education. American education especially is very, very expensive. If we accept them, it's as an international student, and it's comparable to an out of state tuition. We’re talking to [the Office of College Advancement] and trying to see if there are other ways like fundraising or anything else we can do to help them out financially. We’re taking it to the provost’s office to see what provost’s office feels about that, and we're really hoping they can support us. Then after that, once we have at least some kind of reassurance, then one of the things that we've talked about doing is involving the Euro Cafe on Main Street and doing a fundraiser with them with Eastern European and Ukrainian food.” 

Myzelev expressed hope that Geneseo students can find ways to get involved and raise awareness for Ukrainians displaced by the invasion. She said she hopes her efforts on campus will result in more students reaching out to Ukrainian refugees directly to offer aid and support. 

“What I really hope is that we can actually have people talk to each other. Just students talking to students because what I hear again and again is that, for the students who were displaced, that sense of normalcy is completely interrupted. So I’m hoping that by just talking to other people, we can do what we can to help,” she said.