Alum Gawron Finds Career and Love in Russia

Although it’s been quite some time since Amy Gawron curled up with children’s books in the Walpole, NH, bedroom of her family home, the 2004 Keene State grad can attest to the power of the page in instilling in her a sense of imagination and desire to learn about and visit faraway lands.

At age six, Gawron and her sister, Jen, a 2002 KSC grad, were ecstatic when a cousin, who’d just returned from Russia, presented them with a Winnie the Pooh book. But this was no ordinary Winnie the Pooh. “It was written in Russian, and it was the first time I saw a foreign language,” said Gawron. “I wanted to know why these letters were so strange and why my parents couldn’t read them to me.”

For Gawron, the questions about and the fascination with Russia never dissipated. She joined the Russian Club at Fall Mountain Regional High School and later took private lessons in the language. Her dream of visiting Russia came true her sophomore year when members of the club traveled to St. Petersburg. “It was awesome. The safety net of growing up in Walpole finally burst,” said Gawron, who enjoyed the freedom of walking around the second largest city in Russia.

While in Russia, Gawron said, she developed respect for its people and their optimistic outlook, despite the country’s then fading economy and the hardships experienced during World War II.

Ironically, Gawron decided to stay close to home for college, following her older sister to Keene State. A social studies major who was attracted to classes with an international flavor, she took her second trip to Russia with KSC’s global exchange program as a sophomore.

The timing was couldn’t have been better for Gawron, who was one of the first Keene State students to study at Yaroslavl State University. “We were the first exchange students at Yaroslavl and they really didn’t know what to do with us so, they put us in with the English language faculty,” Gawron recalls. “I studied English literature and the classics. Some of our fellow Russian students were jealous because English was our first language and our marks came a little easier for us. I felt a little guilty. If I had to read Dostoyevsky in Russian I’d be terrible.”

Gawron couldn’t get Russia out of her mind. As a graduation present, Gawron, along with her mother, Donna, traveled back to Russia where they visited her host family. Back home in Walpole, the question was not if, but when Gawron would return to Russia.

Attempting to take a more typical post-graduation route, Gawron decided to study business at New England College, but something was missing. Looking for a way to return to Russia, she found the answer online, learning about a career teaching English as a second language abroad. Quicker than you can say Rosetta Stone, Gawron was off to the Ukraine, where she got her TEFL certification. Gawron’s first job was at the Language Academy in Kiev, where she taught adults. English language skills are in high demand in the Ukraine not only for business and travel abroad, she noted, but can also mean a few more Ukraine Hyrvnia - the local currency - in one’s pocket.

Teaching English to Russians isn’t easy. Articles don’t exist in the Russian language, the tenses are different, and getting the right pronunciation can leave some students tongue-tied. Gawron said she prefers teaching beginners because she can immediately see progress. “Children are more open if they have a motivation, and a game is motivating,” she said. “They just repeat, play games, and it’s very easy for them.”

After spending three-and-a-half years in the Ukraine, Gawron moved on to the British Educational Center in Zheleznodorozhnij, near Moscow. Deciding to be closer to Moscow, Gawron, who lives in Lyubertsy, has been working at the Britannica Language School since September. Leaving the Ukraine was difficult for Garwon, who fell in love with the country and its people. Gawron says the recent hostilities between Ukraine and Russia have caused a lot of anguish. “I try not to takes sides, but when I see those cities, many I visited, that have been bombed, it broke my heart,” she said. “Ukraine is a beautiful country and I’ll never forget the people. I had some of the best years of my life in that country.”

The current tension between the United States and Russia has also created additional angst for Gawron, who is engaged to marry a man from Moscow. “When the crisis first happened I was in panic. We heard lots of rumors that they were going to take away all Russian visas and they were going to kick out all the Americans,” said Gawron. “I was nervous. I cried to my mom – I finally meet the right guy and they’re going to kick me out of the country.”

Gawron’s fascination and regard for Russia has been a mixed blessing for her parents, Mark and Donna Gawron. While they miss seeing their daughter, they understand her need to spread her wings and find happiness, even if the place she now calls home is 4,500 miles and seven times zones away. “I’m happy that’s she’s happy,” said Mark, who, along with his wife, communicates with Amy through Skype and email. “Unfortunately, I only get to see her once a year.”

“I always instilled in my children the need to follow their calling, so I think it’s great that Amy has found a place and career she is passionate about,” said Donna, who last visited her daughter over New Year’s.

Although she admits to missing American food and several popular restaurants in Keene, Gawron has found a contentment and fulfillment in her adopted home. “In the back of my head I thought I would go home eventually and the party is going to have to end,” said Gawron. “But I kept on signing up for another year. I went back to the States and I tried to live there. I have great parents and it was great to reconnect with family, but it wasn’t for me.” She added that she’s happy she decided to return to Russia. “But it’s hard to say where is home, because this is like my home too,” she said.

Mark and Donna certainly miss their daughter, but they did gain a future son-in-law. Amy will marry Denis Krolevetsky, a former student of Gawron who recently completed his PHD in ceramics and is a technical sales manager, this summer. The formal wedding will take place in May over in Russia, while a celebratory Walpole wedding, planned by her older sister Jen, will take place in August.

Gawron, 32, says he has no plans to leave the land that brought us vodka, borscht, and Doctor Zhivago. “I’m never going to say never,” said Gawron. “There are many great things about the United States and Russia and if and when we do have children, I want them to have the best of both worlds.”