For her Kutler Center Junior Fellowship project, Arielle Trakhtenberg ’25 visited Krakow, Poland to work for a number of organizations that help Ukrainian refugees who have fled the country since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. She raised money for an organization called Dobro Zawsze Wraca, which aids the people affected by the war and economic collapse. The organization financially assists Ukrainian refugees by providing them with employment and housing, according to their website. They also gather information on the Ukrainian immigration system, which helps make the process less complicated.

Trakhtenberg said that she was inspired by both History Teacher Larry Klein and last year’s fellowship presentations.   

“The idea of being able to help the war effort just a little more than I can from Los Angeles was nice to think of,” Trakhtenberg said. “I immediately knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do.”

Trakhtenberg spent the summer exploring Krakow and interviewing people who worked in various organizations to gain insight into how Ukrainian refugee communities have adapted in Poland and how aid organizations and the Polish government have assisted the Ukrainian refugees. 

Trakhtenberg said that contrary to her predictions, she observed flaws in the current refugee processing system of many western countries.

“I went into the trip thinking that this would be an example of an ideal way countries deal with refugees coming from a neighbor, but it turned out that I was quite naive and it was not as great as I initially expected,” Trakhtenberg said.

Trakhtenberg said that she her time in Poland was memorable and expanded her knowledge of people’s lives in Ukraine.

“During my time there, I discovered that there are some very  cool people out there that are much more selfless than the majority of us are ever going to be able to comprehend,” Trakhtenberg said.