Tonya was among the first students to attend The Immigrant Leaning Center. After surviving the German invasion of Ukraine and living in a Jewish ghetto as a child, Tonya again found herself facing intense anti-Semitism as an adult in Lithuania. Like many Eastern Europeans fleeing the former Soviet Union in the early ‘90s, Tonya, her husband, son, daughter-in-law and two grandsons came to the U.S. as refugees.

Tonya and her husband Igor spoke no English. They found themselves starting over later in life without being able to communicate with anyone in their new home country. Fortunately, they found The Immigrant Learning Center. Learning English meant the world to them. Tonya taught Russian at Tufts University until she retired in 2012. She still wakes up every day saying “God bless America” for the freedom she’s found here.