Featured Speaker for July 19th Meeting:
Olena Hall, Olga & Volodymyr Vermiichyk
Update on Ukraine
Olena Hall was born in Ukraine in 1986 and moved to the U.S. in 2015. She earned her masters degree in Philology (The study of language) from Volyn National University in 2008. She worked as a school teacher in Ukraine until she moved to the United States. Since arriving in the U.S. Olena has spent time raising her now 15 year old son and 6 year old daughter as well as working for several years as a Paraprofessional helping children learn the English language. She has also spent time advocating for Ukrainian causes including organizing supply drives to send Aid to Ukraine. She enjoys advocating for Ukrainians and talking about Ukrainian culture and language.
Olga & Volodymyr Vermiichyk (Olena’s parents) – were both born in Ukraine. They have lived in Ukraine since their birth until the present day. Olga is an assistant principal at the public school near her home, and has been working as an educator for 38 years. Volodymyr is an electrical engineer, is now retired and works as a school bus driver. They want people in the U.S. and around the world to understand the struggles of the Ukrainian people to maintain their culture, language and national identity in the face of a Russian aggression that insists those things do not exist.