Study Abroad Student Views Russian Invasion from Eastern Europe

Christine Metz Howard
Nikita Larson in Vienna.
Photo above: Nikita Larson  is pictured left standing in front of a Stop War sign at the St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna.

For some domestic students traveling abroad, the war in Ukraine also affected their spring semester. Studying abroad in the Czech Republic this spring, Nikita Larson had a second row seat as the country united behind Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.

Larson, who is majoring in business administration with a minor in global and international studies, was studying in a three-month program at the University of New York in Prague.

Larson witnessed the city’s weekly protests in front of the National Museum, saw Czechs traveling to Poland to pick up refugees at the Ukrainian border and worried with the rest of Europe as Russia bombed a nuclear power plant.

“It really impacted every aspect of life and was very up-close and personal,” Larson said.

During her study abroad experience, Larson said that the university’s campus housing shifted rooms to accommodate incoming refugees, and she rescheduled trips to countries that were along the Ukrainian border.

“I never felt totally in danger, but it was always something that was on my mind,” Larson said. “The war felt more imminent, and I was more aware of it. I felt from the American viewpoint, it was very far away.”