Virtual collaborators make the effort to meet in person

Ignoring her doctor’s orders, Peggy Walton boarded a plane to Tampa, Florida just 21 days after reconstructive foot surgery. Two Ukrainian teachers, whom Walton got to know and respect through Peace Corps’ Virtual Service Pilot (VSP), were visiting the States to attend the annual TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) conference. It was an opportunity Walton could not pass up.

“Nothing was going to keep me from meeting up with them. This is what the Peace Corps is all about!” shared Walton.

Walton and her counterparts, Tetiana Kondratieva and Liudmyla Babii, first met each other in October 2022 when the trio began collaborating online to support English learning at a pedagogical university in Ukraine. The university’s foreign language department has a long history of hosting Peace Corps Volunteers, but due to the pandemic and the ongoing war with Russia, the university hasn’t had a Volunteer since March 2020. The staff viewed the Peace Corps’ third way to serve—the Virtual Service Pilot—as a viable solution to connecting students and teachers with a native English speaker.

The engagement was set to last only 21 weeks but based on the positive feedback from the students and teachers, Walton and her counterparts enthusiastically continued the virtual discussions for an additional two years.

“The Virtual Service Pilot is a great example of how distance, time differences, and even war cannot be an obstacle for proper, sincere, and productive collaboration. We managed to build a real community of students and teachers during our speaking club,” shared Kondratieva.

Walton, Kondratieva, and Babii have met every Wednesday to plan club discussions that will deepen the students’ understanding of U.S. history and culture while simultaneously developing their English-speaking skills. On Fridays, they co-facilitate the hour-long club for university students. And, periodically, Walton and her counterparts host curriculum development discussions with the university teachers.

“We discuss cultural issues, such as diversity, cuisine, customs, art. It was interesting to learn about American culture and compare [it with] Ukrainian culture. These discussions acted as a scaffold for my recent visit to the U.S., helping me to avoid culture shock and blunders,” Kondratieva explained.

“Over the last year, I started to be more confident in my speech thanks to our speaking clubs. I appreciate our positive thinking classes; they helped me to realize that my life is full of incredible moments and each day [brings] something new,” shared one student.

While virtual engagement is now open to all U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years old, Walton credits her previous Peace Corps service—first as a two-year Education Volunteer in eastern Ukraine (1994-1996) and then as Response Volunteer in Ukraine’s northwest (2013-2014) and western regions (2015-2016)—for her understanding of the country’s education system and people. Her previous service also taught her the importance of adaptability for overcoming the unexpected.

“There are unique challenges when engaging online with a partner in a war zone; bombs fly overhead, electricity disappears, and internet connections evaporate. Still, the instructional approach to group facilitation is the same: involve the students as much as possible using active learning strategies. Through virtual engagement, I’ve gained a renewed respect for Ukrainians and their determination to carry on no matter what. The teachers are committed to teaching, and the students equally committed to learning. Both want to be ready to rebuild once victory and peace are achieved.”

Walton is one of 100 U.S. citizens who have donated their time as Peace Corps Virtual Service Pilot Participants to support Ukrainian partner organizations online. Walton, along with 12 other Virtual Service Pilot Participants (VSPPs) went on to support a second Ukraine engagement.

“We always feel [her] support and care, which may not distract from the war, but it [provides] human connection, love, and respect,” Babii said. “It is valuable for me to be a part of our small VSP community; I have been using Peggy’s ideas in my English as a Second Language (ESL) and methodology classes. We started [she recommended] journaling activity, which aims to develop students’ writing and reflection skills. I started focusing more on the topics of positive psychology, such as personal wellbeing and mindfulness.”

Kondratieva added, “It is not the format that matters, but the person you interact with. Having Peggy for these two years [has been] a remarkable and life-transforming experience. I appreciate all the dedication and passion she has, as well as [her] willingness to share her knowledge with us. VSP is an excellent opportunity.”

After countless student requests, Babii, Kondratieva, and Walton agreed to offer the speaking club again this fall. The three are excited for more time together, because as their recent meet-up in Florida demonstrates, they’ve grown quite close despite the virtual setting.