LATEST UPDATES:
Brave Generation FY 2025-2026 Report
Brave Generation Newsletter – September 2025 Update (PDF)
Brave Generation Newsletter – June 2025 Update (PDF)
The Atlantic, March 11, 2025 – “My Hometown Became a Different Country” by Tanya Kotelnykova, Brave Generation co-founder & President.
July 2024: Over the last two years, Brave Generation has supported 156 Ukrainian students through the college application process with mentoring, financial support, and mental health support. Eighty percent (80%) of the mentees were admitted to prominent universities and received $11.2 million in scholarships. UCAP is providing its second grant to Brave Generation as it expands its reach and establishes more programs for Ukrainian students to learn about democracy building and other skills needed for Ukraine’s recovery.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Brave Generation was co-founded by Tanya Kotelnykova, a Ukrainian student who was accepted into Columbia University’s master’s program in Human Rights in 2022. Her experience navigating that transition inspired her to help create an organization dedicated to supporting fellow Ukrainian students as they pursue university placements in the United States and Europe—and preparing them to contribute to Ukraine’s long-term recovery and reconstruction.
Brave Generation provides comprehensive support by pairing students with American peer mentors, helping them overcome financial barriers to higher education, offering English-language tutoring, and connecting them with mental health care and trauma support. Together, these resources give motivated students the tools to succeed at university and become part of the brave generation shaping Ukraine’s future.
