Dr. M. Krause visit to WOA Dnipro

«Window on America Center» (Dnipro, Ukraine) was visited by  the «Windows on America» project manager, the representative of the US Embassy in Ukraine, Doctor of Information Sciences, Ms. Magia Krause. She inspected the WOA center, the DOUNB Library departments which host WOA’s events, met the DOUNB Library director  Ms. Nadia Titova, the center's staff members Svitlana Usenko and Tamara Gavryliuk.
 Dr. Krause reviewed the statistics that give the idea of the Center’s work, gave advice on planning future events.
The highlight of the visit was a presentation for WOA’s Express English students – «Discovering America through Pictures». After presentation the English learners had a Q@A session with our American guest. Ms. Krause answered a wide range of questions. The most fluent English learners came over to Ms. Krause to express gratitude for the meeting. They also expressed appreciation of the US Embassy’s project “Windows to America" (Ukraine). They   think, it’s a wonderful resource for studying   American culture and American English.
Participants number – 45 people.

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U.S. exchange programs

More on Academic Exchange programs "Window on America" center was visited by a group of high school and University students to meet the representatives of the US Embassy in Ukraine. Katie Hallock, Assistant Cultural Affairs Officer, and Victoria Mikhaylenko told the group about exchange programs financed by the US State Department and providing the opportunity to study in American schools, colleges and universities. Young people learned more about the program FLEX (10 months of training in an American high school with accommodation with host families), the Fulbright (for young researchers) and other programs. 

The event was complemented with a book display presenting promotional materials kindly provided by US colleges and universities.

Number of participants – 28 persons.

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Diversity Visa Presentation

The United States Vice-Consul Jeremy Little visited Window on America Dnipropetrovsk and gave a presentation on Diversity visas and general immigrant visas issues.
During the presentation Mr. Little explained the process of applying for U.S. diversity visas. He covered the main aspects of the process and explained what should be done to ensure a fair and transparent application process. Mr. Little discussed visa fraud issues including agencies that offer their help with the U.S. visa application as well as “assist” in winning the Green Card.
Mr. Little answered numerous questions that the audience had regarding current immigrant visa application procedures.
Number of participants – 25.

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Friendly visit

On March, 10 DOUNB Library and WOA Center were visited the by representatives of  the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv - Ms. Rachel Atwood  from the Cultural Affairs office and Ms. Natalka Vasyukhnik, the coordinator of  the U.S. government programs’ alumni.

The honored guests were offered a slide show about the mission and the achievements of the WOA Dnipropetrovsk center. The meeting was also attended by the WOA’s partners in Dnipropetrovsk: Mr. Brian Chung, the Fulbright exchange lecturer at the Mining University; Mr. Jason Rush, the volunteer at the WOA’s “Gabfest” English-speaking club; Ms. Dasha Gerasymova, the FLEX exchange coordinator.

WOA Dnipropetrovsk staff members Svitlana Usenko and Tamara Gavryliuk informed the guests about the numerous WOA’s projects in the past and in progress. The local partners shared their impressions about the joint events and projects.

On behalf of the DOUNB Library administration the guests were greeted by Mrs. Tetiana Abraimova, the vice-director. She presented the guests with a local souvenir and offered the samples of the WOA’s promotional materials.The library received a US Embassy’s grant in 2014 to print these materials and promote the WOA’s activities.

We have great hopes for the future cooperation of the DOUNB Library and the US Embassy in Ukraine.

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Work and Travel

Dnipropetrovsk WOA Centre hosted the meeting of 2013 "Summer Work and Travel" participants with Vice-Consul of the US Embassy in Kiev Ms. Tamara Sternberg-Greller. Participants from Dnipropetrovsk oblast were invited to discuss their impressions of the visa procedure and the program itself. The Ukrainian students were offered a questionnaire about SWT procedures and were encouraged to share their experiences (both good and not so good). This information was needed to improve the processing of the visa documents and to eliminate potential problems for future participants.
To break the ice the WOA’s student guests were offered snacks and soft drinks. After the Consulate representative’s speech the WOA staff member Tamara Gavryliuk introduced the facility to the students and invited them to join the WOA’s clubs to keep up their language skills. The resources available at the centre were introduced and recommended for those who plan to pursue academic career.
In the informal atmosphere the SWT participants had a chance for networking and finding new friends for future trips to the USA (some people plan to participate in the program one more time).
Number of participants – 25 persons.

U.S. visas

U.S. VICE-CONSUL TO DISCUSS STUDENT AND EXCHANGE PROGRAMS AND U.S. VISA APPLICATION PROCEDURES.
During the discussion Ms. Sternberg explained the process of applying for U.S. visas and was available to questions from the audience immediately following the discussion.
Number of participants –  19 persons.

Financial Session

This afternoon the Gabfest Club had a guest from the US Embassy in Kyiv - Ms. Elisabeth Horst is a Deputy Economic Councilor.
She was asked to talk to the club members about the ways to save money - the financial topic that might be interesting for all club members. Ms. Horst told us many facts and figures about the ways of saving money that exists in the USA. We compared credit card culture in the US and Ukraine   and talked about the good and bad things about plastic money.
The club members were very active and asked many questions. We were lucky to have other American guests in the audience – loyal club friends Mr. Joseph and Mr. Keith.

The atmosphere was enhanced by the presence of the FLEX exchange program participants - Dasha and Nastia who also took an active part in the conversation. Our guest was delighted to see the motivated and interested audience.
The club members shared their thoughts with Ms. Horst after the session and the Club’s chairman Jeff presented a book about Ukraine to her.
The session with the Embassy economists turned out very lively, educational and was enjoyed by all the participants.
Number of participants 22 persons.
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Visit of Mr. Jett Thomason, the US Embassy representative

The Dnipropetrovsk Window on America Center was visited by the Vice Consul of the US Embassy in Kyiv Mr. Jett Thomason and his spouse.
The American guests listened to the facts and figures about the Center. It was created prox. 10 years ago to facilitate free access to information (via Internet) for Ukrainians and to resources for American English learners.
The guests were interested in all aspects of the WOA’s activities: the opening hours, the customers’ categories, the events organized at the facility, the terms and conditions for the use of resources, etc. The WOA’s Head Svitlana Usenko has answered all the questions and illustrated the answers with the photos from the library reports and Blog where 3 year archives are represented.
The honored guests examined the displays proposed at the WOA Center: a book display about the Smithsonian Institution and a photo display about participation in the Work @ Travel student exchange program (by Svitlana Luchitskaya).
Mr. Thomason inquired about the WOA cooperation with the Peace Corp. volunteers in Ukraine. It turned out that Mr. Vice Consul served as a volunteer in different countries of the world (in Africa and Asia).
Mr. Thomason expressed hope for further fruitful cooperation of the US Embassy in Ukraine and the DOUNB Library.