Kateryna Kuzmuk was a first-year university student in Ukraine when Russia invaded on February 24, 2022. A few months later, after fleeing the war, she made her way to Edmonton.

“I never imagined that I would have the possibility of travelling across the Atlantic,” says Kuzmuk, a visiting student from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy’s Bachelor of International Relations program. “My family is not very well off, so when I was granted an opportunity to not only go to Canada, but to study there, I tried to take the most from it.” 

Making the most of her experience included working as a research assistant for political science prof Dr. Jeffrey Rice, looking into crowdfunding efforts for the war in Ukraine that eventually turned into international multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns. 

Kuzmuk collected and categorized data on 60 different crowdfunding campaigns launched during the first six months after the Russian invasion. She documented goals and funds raised, translated campaign information from Ukrainian to English, categorized the data and identified variables that could be relevant to Dr. Rice’s research.  

Her contributions helped inform Dr. Rice’s research and a piece he authored in The Conversation in October 2023. 

Before arriving at MacEwan, Kuzmuk had been considering research – helping her country and contributing to the development of Ukraine on its path to European integration was always important to her. 

“Of course, this topic has a personal connection for me,” she says. “I didn’t expect to have much opportunity to study my home country while studying abroad so you cannot imagine how happy I was to be asked to contribute to Dr. Rice’s research.”

Using her new skills to add to the knowledge about her country, communicating about issues that exist and sharing her people’s experiences at this difficult time were highlights, says Kuzmuk. “It showed me that I’m capable of a lot of things, that I can aim high and reach that goal."

Kuzmuk has since returned to study in Europe to be closer to her family, but she’s still connected to MacEwan. “I plan to cooperate with the MacEwan Model UN Club and hope that our delegations will be able to meet up at the National Model UN conference in New York. That’s my biggest goal.”