Krystyna Golovakova

I was born in Soviet Ukraine and grew up in Zhytomyr, where I first fell in love with languages and teaching. My teenage years unfolded alongside Perestroika and Glasnost. I vividly remember the Chernobyl disaster of 1986—a moment of fear, anger, and confusion. Years later, Mikhail Gorbachev himself would call it “perhaps the real cause of the collapse of the Soviet Union five years later,” a reminder of how profoundly that event shook our world.

I graduated from Zhytomyr Pedagogical Institute in 1997 with a Master’s degree in Linguistics and Pedagogy and began my career as a language teacher—a vocation that has remained at the heart of my life. My academic path also includes a second Master’s degree in Public Administration from the National Academy of State Administration (2008).

Over the years, my path has taken me far from my hometown—to Manila in the Philippines, where I taught Ukrainian and Russian for over a decade. In March 2022, I arrived in Ithaca, and in the United States, with my two younger children, seeking safety from the war in Ukraine. Its expansive skies and vibrant foliage often remind me of my homeland. Beyond my professional journey, I am also the mother of three children, whom I have largely raised on my own. That experience has shaped my resilience, deepened my compassion, and strengthened my commitment to education as a space of both knowledge and belonging.

For me, languages are more than tools of communication. Ukrainian and Russian, with their distinct histories and traditions, should never be used as political weapons. They are bridges, not borders—ways to connect people, to foster understanding, and to carry forward the beauty of culture.

The Ukrainian language in particular is a treasure chest of history, resilience, and artistry. Its dialects, folk songs, and literature hold the voices of generations. Among the writers I most admire is Pavlo Zahrebelnyi, whose novel Roksolana captures both the lyricism of the language and the complexity of its history.

With the world’s eyes on Ukraine today, I feel both a responsibility and an honor to share its language and culture with students. My hope is that through teaching, I can offer not only words and grammar, but also a deeper understanding of Ukraine as a nation with its own voice, traditions, and enduring spirit.

Email me: kg463@cornell.edu