Beyond the Headlines

Members of the Ukraine Culture Club find camaraderie together and share a deep dive into the country with a curious School community.

BY IAN ALDRICH

When Vladyslav Derevko ’28 arrived at St. Paul’s School from Ukraine in the fall of 2024, the future felt uncertain. He was thousands of miles from his family in Kyiv, eager for the opportunities at SPS but searching for a sense of place far from his occupied homeland.

What eased the transition were the three fellow Ukrainian-born students — Kyryl Volkov ’27, Maksym Sendziuk ’27, and Mariia Matsiiako ’26 — who were already in Millville. Over the course of Derevko’s first several months at SPS, the four met often. The war remained an unavoidable presence, yet it did not dominate their conversations. They shared accounts about their families, reminisced about the foods they missed and the music they loved, and relished the informal time to speak Ukrainian.

They also discussed the questions they fielded from school friends about their native country — about its culture, its traditions, its everyday life. It was apparent there was an opportunity to share with others the Ukraine they knew that went beyond the war-focused headlines. In February 2025, the Ukraine Culture Club was born.

“So many people know something about Ukraine from two sources: the news and the sports leagues,” Derevko says. “In fact, Ukrainian culture is richer than that. SPS is full of curious students who would always ask me this and that about Ukraine, and I have always been happy to share an anecdote about my life back home. Ukraine Culture Club has become a perfect tool to satisfy my friends’ curiosity and not repeat the same stories. Now, many of our peers are aware of Ukrainian traditions, cuisine, fashion, public opinion, and more.”

Since its founding, the club has hosted several events, including last spring’s successful introduction of varenyky, a Ukrainian dumpling often compared to a Polish pierogi, which club members made and shared with peers while the group watched a Ukrainian film.

“It was a great event, and everyone enjoyed trying a new dish,” Matsiiako says.

Club adviser Michelle Hung P’29, associate dean of admissions, sees the success of these gatherings as a testament to both the curiosity of the School community and the students’ pride in their heritage. That’s been especially true over the course of a pair of chapel talks that club members have led in the last year.

“They told stories about their family enduring the long winter,” Hung says. “How the war has impacted people they know and how they’re overcoming that. It gave the war a human face. These are incredibly talented, bright kids. For them to be here, so far from their families and homes, says something about who they are. To share their culture is a way to show how that culture is alive and thriving.”

Three of the current Ukrainian students — Volklov, Sendziuk, and Matsiiako — came to SPS via the Ukraine Global Scholars program, a nonprofit that places students in select boarding schools and colleges across the United States. Next year, St. Paul’s School will welcome another student from Ukraine.

While Matsiiako plans to attend Harvard in the fall, she trusts that those who come after her from her home country will be in good hands because of the Ukraine Culture Club and the SPS community at large.

“Working on many of the club’s events has brought Ukrainian students in the School closer together, and it has been reassuring to have others by my side,” she says. “I hope that in the future, the Ukraine Culture Club will also serve as a safe space for new Ukrainian students. Many of us have faced similar challenges as we adapt to the School. Having older students who can take on a mentorship role and help new students transition into the educational environment with guidance from peers who are culturally close to them is important.”