Tetyana doesn’t consider herself brave, but it was the first thought I had when we talked about the fact that she is from Ukraine, her mother had to flee the country for Poland, and her father and brother stayed behind for the war effort while she found the courage to go on and finish her dissertation to graduate with a Ph.D. in Learning Technologies in May 2022. Her father is an active volunteer who frequently travels and delivers supplies and equipment to the volunteer military groups to the East of Ukraine (Donetsk), close to the areas of active military action. He drives around 20 hours to deliver it all with other volunteers, completing 3 trips already.
As we talked further, I discovered another way in which she is brave. Halfway through her Ph.D. program in Curriculum and Instruction, Tetyana decided to transfer to the Learning Technologies Department and work on a Ph.D. in LT, while obtaining a minor in Curriculum and Instruction because she wanted to combine her educational background (M.A. TESOL, B.A. and M.A. English and Literature) with her technology skills in Graphic Design (graduate course).
During this time period, she also worked as Graduate and Teaching Assistant at UNT, Instructional Designer at ImmerseMe, and most recently Community Manager at SideQuest. This last position became achievable because of her studies within the LT department in virtual reality. Tetyana had been interested in educational technology but became more and more interested in VR technology through her coursework, and she credits the department and professors in Learning Technologies for opening that world to her.
As a matter of fact, Tetyana’s dissertation topic was, “High-Immersion Virtual Reality for Language Learning.” She also was awarded first place at the UNT 3-Minute Thesis doctoral student research competition with her topic, “Battling Social Isolation with Virtual Reality” and represented UNT at the regional 3MT competition, where she became a finalist. Tetyana is grateful for the support she has received from the LT department, including a nomination for Great Grads, through which her story is featured by UNT, support offered to her family by Dr. Kaplan-Rakowski’s family and friends in Poland, and the encouragement from all the professors to explore and discover her unique interests and abilities.
If you would to help with the war relief efforts, Tetyana recommends this organization:
https://helpukraine.center/
Related news stories:
https://www.cbsnews.com/dfw/news/ukrainian-unt-doctoral-student-set-to-receive-her-degree-this-weekend/
https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/unt-student-says-professor-helped-ease-fears-for-family-in-ukraine/2963290/