Sofiia Tretiak ’27 Named Middlebury's Newman Civic Fellow 2025-2026
From Interim President Steve Snyder
Sofiia Tretiak, Middlebury College Class of 2027, has shown tremendous interest and commitment to community engaged learning, service, and public benefit from the very start of her first year at Middlebury College. And this commitment has continued to deepen and broaden with each semester, both within Center for Community Engagement programs and beyond. Sofiia has worked tirelessly to support intercultural and linguistic exchange through Language in Motion, a program that connects College students with local K-12 educators. She’s taken leadership in the United for Ukraine organization and events, led a Middlebury Alternative Break trip on environmental justice, ensured public access to science through research with the town and college Science Café collaboration, and developed a documentary about Vermonters’ sense of home in the Interdisciplinary Studies Community Connected Learning course. Sofiia embodies and extends community engagement values of connection, justice, and community. She is a transparent and thoughtful collaborator and someone who finds deep meaning in engaging with others for shared and common good.
Personal Statement
My journey in community work began through youth leadership in Ukraine, where I organized educational projects through programs like AIESEC, FLEX, and UNICEF’s UPSHIFT. These experiences shaped my commitment to creating learning opportunities, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and helping people feel connected to their communities. At Middlebury, I’ve continued this path through the Center for Community Engagement. As a student leader in Language in Motion and a former member of the Middlebury Science Café team, I’ve worked to expand educational access and connect students with local communities. I also co-led a Middlebury Alternative Breaks trip on environmental justice to California, collaborating with grassroots partners and gaining experience in community-based learning. Currently, I’m creating a documentary where I’ve interviewed local residents about their sense of belonging and community. This project has helped me build meaningful partnerships and deepen my understanding of local voices.
As Vice President of United for Ukraine, I co-organize campus-wide events to celebrate and share Ukrainian culture. What ties my work together is a belief in collaborative, community-driven solutions and the power of shared leadership and learning. My goal is always to work with—not just for—communities.