Today we’d like to introduce you to Misha Lemesh.
Misha, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I was born and raised in Zaporizhia, Ukraine. At the age of 15 I traveled to the US as a part of the FLEX (Future Leaders Exchange) and USA/USA-Ukrmerezha program. Motivated by the education system in the US I applied to a number of boarding schools and ended up at Deerfield Academy, MA on a full ride. Pursuing my dream, I then got into Harvard College on a full scholarship. I was one of two Ukrainians back in 2012 when graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard. As a next step I returned to Ukraine, joined McKinsey & Company and co-founded Ukraine Global Scholars (UGS), a non-profit organization that finds talented high school students in different corners of Ukraine with a focus on small towns with scarce education opportunities, and then mentors them through the application process to top US boarding schools and colleges. As Ukraine Global Scholars was getting a momentum, I did my MBA at Wharton Business School and moved to the Boston office of McKinsey & Company to be closer to boarding schools our finalists are studying at.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
Since 2015, Ukraine Global Scholars (UGS) helped 34 young Ukrainians (aged 14-18) from modest backgrounds win ~$8 million in full scholarships to top education institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, and many of the top 10 boarding schools with an operating budget of just USD 50K. In addition to selecting top talent, running annual summer camps, and mentoring students along with our team, my wife Julia Lemesh and I drove fundraising efforts and built relations with 30+ boarding schools in the US, resulting in the 94% acceptance rate for UGS boarding school applicants-2016 and 2017. UGS continues to scale and expand its impact. Our mission is to educate new generation of Ukrainian leaders. Under the conditions of the program UGS finalists must return to Ukraine within a 5-year period after the graduation and contribute to the development of a new Ukraine.
Our team is very proud of the results so far. The majority of UGS alumni are ranked in the top 10% of their class. Several have launched start-ups, social ventures, or nonprofit initiatives on campus. For example, Bohdan Hrytsak, Woodberry Forest School ’19, VA launched a startup called MakeLabs.org. His team develops assistive solutions for visually impaired kids. All UGS alumni graduating high school this year have been accepted at selective colleges on full scholarships. 73% of all alumni and current finalists volunteer with UGS, helping with essential tasks such as holding information sessions at schools throughout Ukraine, initial application screening, and acting as mentors for new finalists. I am confident they will proceed doing this awesome job, changing Ukraine for better.
*One can read a recent story about siblings from miner’s family who got into top US boarding schools this year with our help. It was covered in the leading Ukrainian newspaper called Kyivpost – https://www.kyivpost.com/lifestyle/ukrainian-teenagers-miners-family-study-us-private-schools.html
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
My suggestion is to concentrate on what important for you at the moment. Financial support will come eventually if the project you are doing is inspirational for other people. It needs all your attention in the beginning even if it means that you need to go through hard financial times. Creating a worthy project that is what matters. If you manage to do it notwithstanding the obstacles, it won’t be too long before you’ll start getting a reward.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can support us by donating on the website www.ukraineglobalscholars.org. We are also looking for mentors who are willing to work with the UGS finalists and are familiar with the application process to the US boarding schools and colleges. You can reach out to Julia Lemesh, Board Member, at jlemesh@ukraineglobalscholars.org for any further questions on how to support UGS.
Contact Info:
- Address: 23 Lilac Court, Cambridge, MA
- Website: www.ukraineglobalscholars.org
- Phone: 6172301213
- Email: mlemesh@ukraineglobalscholars.org
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukraineglobalscholars/
Image Credit:
Anastasiya Prokhorenko,
Serafim Melnychuk
Inna Ovsepian
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