When a favorite job becomes a life’s calling, it means that the right choice has been made. A social worker is a person who does good deeds for others. Recently, Mariana Hasiak, a specialist at the International «Integration» Center, received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Center for Ukrainian Canadian Studies in Winnipeg. She shared her success story with us.
– Please, tell us about your trip to Winnipeg.
– Last year we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the project «Reforming Social Services» (1999–2003), which was implemented at Lviv Polytechnic in cooperation with the University of Manitoba. My trip was planned as part of an exchange program between the two Universities.
– What was the purpose of the trip?
– As a participant in the exchange program, I was required to study two courses at the University of Manitoba, namely, «Youth Affected by Violence» and «Reintegration of Ex-Servicemen into Civil Society: Theories and Practices». The second course, by the way, is directly related to the subject of my research, so I had the opportunity to study the North American experience of reintegrating the military into civil society. Dr. Maureen Flaherty, a professor at the University of Manitoba, is my second official supervisor. So we aimed to work together.
– What new experience have you gained?
– First of all – life abroad is longer than two or three weeks. I have a lot of impressions from my stay in Winnipeg, communication with Canadians of Ukrainian origin, as well as with Ukrainians living in Canada. The experience of working in an academic environment of group mates and academic staff became very precious for me. I discovered that being a student in Canada is very prestigious. I also had the experience of delivering presentations in English to an English-speaking audience. Before the quarantine period, I tried not only to fulfill my responsibilities within the exchange program, but also to use all the time to my advantage. In particular, I managed to complete my study and receive certificates from the Center Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning at the University of Manitoba in three areas, namely: «Support for students with disabilities», «Creating a mentally healthy learning space», «The science of teaching: stress and its impact on students’ learning in the classroom.» It is hard for me to believe that the quarantine started in March, and most of events were held online. But the experience I had gained in less than three months is enormous.
– Please, tell us about your lecture and research.
– The lecture was held at St. Andrew’s College and the Center for Canadian-Ukrainian Studies. It was an incredible pleasure to work with the representatives of this Center. The topic of my dissertation research is «Creating an inclusive educational environment for war veterans in higher education.» It also involves studying the experience of some other countries, including Canada. In the second lecture we planned to summarize the results of my stay and a more detailed review of my work. So it’s a pity it didn’t happen.
– In your opinion, what should be done for the further development of inclusive education in the HEIs of Ukraine?
– We still have the need of information campaigns on various topics, including disability and inclusion. It is important to find people inside Lviv Polytechnic who are interested in inclusion and are willing to work with us. Architectural accessibility is very important, but it all starts with our awareness.
