We’re extending a warm “Ласкаво просимо” to Mykyta ‘Nik’ Pchelintsev, who recently joined our Interpreting & Translation department as billing coordinator.
Born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, Nik is a native Ukrainian and Russian speaker. Among English, which he learned in school and by watching American movies and TV shows, Nik also has a working knowledge of French and Czech.
Having an interest in finance, Nik was settling into his career in banking when the war in Ukraine broke out, forcing Nik and his mother to uproot and flee their home, becoming refugees overnight. Upon their arrival in the United States, Nik was shuffled into appointment after appointment, eventually being introduced to the team that runs the Pathways Program at the International Institute of Buffalo.
Through this program, Nik recognized the opportunity to overcome the hardships on his journey to get here. Pathways Program Job Coach Lauren Gertner remembers, “He worked incredibly hard in both the ORR (Office of Refugee Resettlement) and ONA (Office of New Americans) programs to better himself and prepare for the work environment here. He was prepared to do whatever it took. Through our programs, he learned about this opportunity to work in finance again, and I knew he would be a great fit with his knowledge and work ethic.”
The Interpreting & Translation team is thrilled to work with Nik, supporting his passion for finance and our work at IIB.