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
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Interview Date
Interview Rights
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.Interview Usage
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.
Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s).
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.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7fhjbt96n93