One week before political science and Russian major Josh Hughes was scheduled to fly to Ukraine for a study abroad program, he found out that his trip was canceled because of the escalating conflict with Russia.
“I was really upset,” says Hughes. “I thought, nothing bad is going to happen. There’s not going to be a war!”
That was in February 2022. A couple months later, headquartered in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Hughes livestreamed virtual politics classes from a classroom in Kiev late at night, listening as bombs fell in the city outside of his professor’s window. Though Hughes may not have been in Ukraine, his study abroad plans had been salvaged—and he couldn’t have been happier with where he ended up.
