MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A Ukrainian West Virginia University (WVU) student is receiving special attention in a U.S. effort to help promote Ukrainian student’s education across the nation.

Mark Vodianyi, a sophomore studying political science from Kyiv City, Ukraine, will receive the Global Democracy Ambassador Scholarship for Ukrainian Scholars, which covers “tuition and fees for one academic semester and a stipend for personal use during the semester as well,” according to a release from the WVU Office of Global Affairs.

“I am one of the ten winners of the first cohort, and the ten are all Ukrainian students that were selected from a pool within the U.S., so I am really proud that I’m representing WVU in this program,” said Vodianyi.

According to the release, the scholarship recipient must be a Ukrainian student studying at a U.S. institution who will graduate during the May 2023-2024 period and has written an essay about how the invasion of Ukraine has affected them and what they want to do to support Ukraine in the future post-war.

Vodianyi said he would like to attend law school in the U.S. and use what he learns to aid in the reconstruction of Ukraine.

“My plan was to go to law school and study criminal law so that one day I could have a chance to bring the soldiers who are guilty of committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine to justice,” said Vodianyi. “I feel professionally and morally obliged.”

Vodianyi has also been accepted for the Summer 2023 International Affairs Program Track and has been awarded a full scholarship.