On August 25, 2021, Olha Vasheniuk received an email with the subject line: "ENGin: Meet Your Match!" She didn't know it then, but that message would mark the beginning of a journey that would take her far beyond conversational English — all the way to a career connecting Ukrainian professionals with American startups. This is her story.

On October 1, 2023, Alex sent his first message to Maria. It was a simple introduction, the kind that every ENGin volunteer sends at the start of a new conversation partnership. Neither of them could have predicted that two and a half years later, they would be standing together in the shadow of Wawel Castle in Kraków, unfolding a Ukrainian flag and attempting to sing a Ukrainian song that Alex had mentioned somewhere along the way in one of their calls.

Almost two years ago, Dmytro Kniaziuk made a quiet, slightly terrifying decision: he wanted to try teaching someone English. He had no training, no formal experience, and, by his own honest admission, very little confidence. What he did have was curiosity, a willingness to try, and a classmate who mentioned a program called ENGin. That small beginning would grow into something far larger than he ever expected.