Interview with William Matthew "Matt" Orr, April 26, 2022

Project: Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project

Interview Summary

Matt Orr served in Ukraine, 2009-2011, teaching English in Verkhn'odniprovs'k in central Ukraine. There he taught 2nd to 11th grades at a school considered as an English hub for the region. Staging was in Philadelphia. His cohort was large, estimated at 100 people, 80% of which was female. In-country training was in Boguslav, just south of the capital Kyiv, where Matt studied Russian. The language spoken at his permanent site was Surzhyk, a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian. Matt started a community English club which was attended by students from other schools. He was involved in a creative writing “Olympics” and was a judge for the Ministry of Education for their end-of-year testing. He also enjoyed opportunities to travel in Crimea and around western Ukraine. Matt counts as accomplishments being accepted in the community and by his English teacher “crew.” He called his Peace Corps experience both rewarding and humbling.

Interview Accession

2022oh1257_pcrv0575

Interviewee Name

William Matthew "Matt" Orr

Interviewer Name

Joyce L. Jenkins

Interview Date

2022-04-26

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Orr, William Matthew Interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. 26 Apr. 2022. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Orr, W.M. (2022, April 26). Interview by J. L. Jenkins. Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Orr, William Matthew, interview by Joyce L. Jenkins. April 26, 2022, Peace Corps: The Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





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