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Personal Reflection/Anecdote

Impacting Worldwide: A Story of

Networking

By Kammie Richter and Oksana Kolesnik

Often, we do not realize how we, as individuals, may impact the lives of others. Teachers may not see the
reach of their influence until years later, if at all. In 2017, I was fortunate enough to meet two international
teachers through a program at the University of Illinois. My husband and I had learned of this program
through volunteering at our church and had previously signed up to be a host family for international
students—but we were interested in this summer program for teachers as well. Peter was from Slovenia,
and Oksana was from Ukraine. We brought them to our home and had some friends over to welcome them.
We cooked outside over a small fire and shared s’mores even though it was June. We all enjoyed learning
about their lives, and they learned about ours. We took them back to the university and exchanged contact
information, as we planned to stay in touch. Years passed, and although our communication had slowed to
a crawl, we did continue to communicate. Little did we know then that, in 5 years, world situations would
put us in contact once again.
Beginning in late February 2022, Ukraine was in the news. In March, I reached out to Oksana but,
even though I tried various means of social media, I could not contact her. I reached out to Peter from
Slovenia. He informed me he’d been getting sporadic messages from Oksana: that she had fled the country,
that her husband needed to stay back home to help protect Ukraine, and that she was staying as a refugee
in a Romanian city near the Romanian-Hungarian border. Then finally, in April, I reached her with his
help. In May, I was relieved to receive an email from her letting me know she was all right and her poor
Internet connections were the only reason for communication gaps.
Oksana told me she was staying in Romania and that her older son had told her to complete a form with
Homes for Ukraine, a program allowing United Kingdom (UK) citizens to sponsor someone’s visa from
Ukraine and host them for a minimum of 6 months. She was hoping to go to the UK, where her son would
have a job when he graduated from college. I told her I would ask my friends if they knew anyone in the
UK. I wanted to help, but it was the day before Easter, and I imagined most families would not be checking
their emails and would be busy with preparations for the weekend. As a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, I
figured Society networking could be the answer. It was a shot in the dark, but it was, nevertheless, a shot. I
asked our state organization president if it would be appropriate to put out the call to all our officers, chairs,
and chapter presidents to see if they knew someone in the UK who would be willing to house a woman and
her 11-year-old son for an undetermined period. The email resulted in several responses from women who
knew someone in the UK. They all had to call and check with potential hosts, which, of course, could take
some time. Nevertheless, I soon received an email from one member who had a friend who just happened
to have a niece in the UK who had completed a form to house those with Home for Ukraine.
Less than 16 hours later, the two families were put in touch with each other. Things went well, the visas
moved along readily, and, in less than 30 days, Oksana and her son had arrived in a new place to live! To
me, it was a true Easter miracle!
This is only my part of the story. Oksana and her son lived it with the rest of her family. I asked her to
write and share her experience, and a brief version follows.

My Escape from War: Oksana’s Story
Hello! My name is Oksana Kolesnik, and I am a teacher of English from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. It is
on February 24 when the full-scale war began in Ukraine, and I am writing my story now to share my

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