October 29, 2020. OTTAWA, ON. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) is pleased to announce that following an extensive national search process, Matthew Selinger and Dr. Alexander Kostenko have been selected as the new UCC Parliamentary Interns for 2020-2021.
“Both Alexander and Matthew are exceptionally talented and we are proud to select them as our Parliamentary Interns for this year. Thank you to our many generous donors and supporters for making this program possible” said Alex Ilchenko, UCC Vice-President and Chair of the Parliamentary Internship Program.
Alexander Kostenko will be starting work next week in the office of Member of Parliament David Sweet (Flamborough-Glanbrook) and Matthew Selinger will begin his placement in early 2021. Both will be working remotely from home until such time as health regulations allow for safe return to work in Ottawa. This proved to be a successful model for Anna Bodnar, the most recent UCC Parliamentary Intern, who worked with MP Peter Fonseca from March to July.
“The UCC Parliamentary Internship program provides the future leaders of the Ukrainian Canadian community with insights and experience in working in the Canadian Parliamentary and political process, to better serve the Ukrainian Canadian community in the future” said Ihor Michalchyshyn, UCC National CEO
The UCC Parliamentary Internship Program is made possible through the generous support of individual and organizational donors, including the Roman Waschuk & Oksana Smerechuk Fund, Ukrainian Canadian Veterans Fund (through the Shevchenko Foundation, Ukrainian National Federation, and Ukrainian Credit Union Ltd. To see a full list of our donors and learn how you can make a donation to support this program please click here .
To learn more about the UCC Parliamentary Internship Program please visit our website.
About out 2020 Parliamentary Interns
Dr. Alexander Kostenko is a recent graduate from the Astronomy and Astrophysics PhD program at the University of Toronto. Alexander is very involved with the Ukrainian Canadian community such as his involvement with the program – Computers for Ukraine Project, volunteering at Ukrainian Independence Day celebrations and organizing Ukrainian movie showings. He volunteered with the Computers for Ukraine project and founded their Scientific Computer branch. Alexander also served as a Communication Advisor to the former Minister of Infrastructure in Ukraine.
Matthew Selinger is a recent graduate of the University of Saskatchewan with a B.A. in Modern Languages, as well as a B.A. in Political Studies and Ukrainian Studies. In addition to his academic work in Canada and Ukraine, Matthew has been involved with St. Thomas More College, the USask Model United Nations, and municipal and provincial campaigns in Saskatchewan.
