Ukrainian group sees BC3's science offerings
BUTLER TWP — As they made their way from station to station inside one of Butler County Community College's Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics labs Monday, a group of young people from the Ukraine took photos and videos to document their visit.
They listened intently — some through an interpreter — as Dean of STEM Matt Kovac explained how the lab is used for everything from 3D printing to larger projects on health sciences and renewable energy.
The visit was just one of several in the region for the group through the Open World Leadership Center. The Butler County stop was held in conjunction with the Butler Rotary Club.
According to John O'Keefe, counsel to the board of trustees and former executive director of the Open World Leadership Program, the goal of the program is to both educate and learn from the young professionals on a particular topic. The group visiting Butler County had a background in renewable energy, and O'Keefe noted one of the members was an inventor with a patent pending on a major creation.
“The idea behind the program is for them to come and see how we look at energy issues,” he said. “They also have, as you have in this area, shale gas, and so they can take a look to see how that gets developed, what the advantages and disadvantages are and how it is managed.”
O'Keefe said the group has also visited Washington, D.C., California and Houston on its trip. The group spent the morning visiting with a Rotary club in Kittanning, where members presented and shared their backgrounds and insights. They're just some of the more than 24,000 Russians and Ukrainians who have visited the United States as part of the program.
Mike McElhaney, Rotary assistant district governor and a member of the Kittanning club, said there is also much to be learned from the participants during their time here. He said they shared examples of new technology with local farmers, as their country is leading the way in innovation.
“I'm learning that it is kind of like Pittsburgh,” he said. “They're really the technology leaders in Europe, whereas 10 years ago they were sleepier.”
After touring BC3's STEM labs and library, the group shared dinner with members of the Rotary club, and heard a presentation on economic development in Butler County.
O'Keefe — who also served as U.S. ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, acting director general of the U.S. Department of State and deputy director of the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. Department of State — said while the professional development and interaction of the trip is priceless, it is the personal connections the visitors make that have a lasting impact.
“The people who go in the program, they love the professional part, but the part that speaks to their souls is really seeing that the values that we have in the United States are not much different from their own values,” O'Keefe said.
The participants stay with host families while in the United States, many of whom are members of Rotary clubs. O'Keefe said the two organizations formed a bond when the program began 20 years ago, and the partnership allows for participants to see the importance of service organizations. He noted that after the breakup of the former Soviet Union, there were no Rotary clubs in Russia. After the first year of the program, that number grew to 83.
“What they get to see is how powerful and important and sustaining to a community these kinds of organizations are,” he said.
McElhaney noted the group will visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday to further their discussions and education.
