Russian and Ukrainian Speakers meet in room 164 after school on Tuesdays and Fridays from 2:30-3:30 p.m.. Their goal is to provide a safe space for all students who speak Russian and Ukranian. They gather to talk, help each other with homework, play games or have fun debates. A freshman and co-founder of RUSH, Karyna Voskanian, attends the club regularly. “We help each other learn, and sometimes we have days where we just go to this club and help each other with homework.” They celebrate Slovakian holidays such as Maslenitsa, a holiday of making crepes and dolls.
The club was founded when they realized the students needed some help with picking electives and moving around the school. They found that this club would help with finding more people like them, who struggle with English. Yaryna Kovalchuk is a senior who attends the club. “I like this school because it’s comfortable for me speaking my language because English is very difficult for me. ” Khrystyna Voitykhovska, another senior, points out that students new to this country do not have the advantages of parents who can help them navigate the challenges of school. “Everybody’s parents went to high school and they know what to do, how to pick electives, how to know what grade you need for another class. We don’t know anything because we’re the first generation to go to high school here.”
RUSH brought their presentations to the student council in December of 2025. They were later approved in January. Mr. Simpson, a Vice Principal at Hillsborough High School, outlined the process. “They give a presentation to the student council, the council talks about it and says ‘here’s the things we think are good, and here’s the things we don’t think will work or not.’ and then Mr. DiLollo and I sit down to talk about the feasibility of it and if we think that it’s worthwhile then we put it forth to the Board of Education.”
The club is dedicated to providing a community where everyone can come together, not just those who speak Russian or Ukrainian. Iana comments, “The goal is to connect Russian and Ukranian speakers. Not only Russian and Ukranian, they might be from another country and speak Russian, so just to find new friends, to help each other.”
