Arsen Martyshchuk, left, and Nina Klimenkova began immersing themselves in the UTC culture shortly after arriving on campus.
photo by Angela Foster/UTC
“How is your family in Ukraine doing?”
It’s the most-asked question for graduate students Arsen Martyshchuk and Nina Klimenkova, who arrived at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga last month for the start of the fall semester.
They’re starting their master’s programs as the first recipients of the UTC Global Response Assistantship, having made their way from their respective hometowns to Chattanooga with help from UTC, the U.S. State Department and several other organizations, including the Ukrainian government.
The program—one of only a few graduate programs for Ukrainian students in the U.S.
and the only one in Tennessee—provides full tuition, room and board and a $600 monthly stipend for the students, both of whose families are still in war-torn Ukraine.
Mr. Martyshchuk, 23, is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration in the Department of Political Science and Public Service. He plans to return to his hometown of Krasnyk after earning his master’s degree and work in local government.
“My goal is to work hard and then get back to Ukraine and make things better,” he said, “if things go well and the war is over.”
Ms. Klimenkova, 21, is pursuing a master’s in computer science in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. She grew up in the small town of Voznesensk.
“It’s hard to predict the future now, but helping to rebuild the country is what I would like to do,” she said.