Inna Sysevich: Everyone's Mama

Whether telling a priceless joke to students in an 8 a.m. Russian class or engaging in casual conversations with her advisees, Modern Languages instructor Inna Sysevich, commonly known on campus as “Mama,” is admired and valued for bringing laughter and affection to students everyday.As the Academy’s only Russian instructor, Sysevich has been able to teach the same group of students through their Exeter career, since she started teaching in the Academy, and has built unique relationships with each of them.“It is very personal. [Any student] who decides to take Russian walks into my classroom the first day of their prep year and stays with me for as long as they take the language, which for most is all four years,” Sysevich said.Lower Audrey DeGuerrera shared her experiences with Sysevich and commented on her affable nature, as well as her entertaining classes. “I think she's crazy in all the right ways,” DeGuerrera said. “She's very easy to talk to, and I really feel like she gets me when I talk to her.”Other students who study Russian echoed DeGuerrera’s sentiments. Lower Georgia Forbes commented on Sysevich’s ability to make classes always enjoyable and relaxing, yet challenging. “She's very nice to the class and is pretty lenient. She lets us chat amongst ourselves and sometimes tells us a story from back home. That being said, she keeps discipline. She lets us have our fun, but she makes sure that we’re all learning and advancing,” Forbes said.Senior Philip Decker, who has taken Russian with Sysevich in past years, expanded upon Forbes’ opinion and noted the warm, positive atmosphere of the classes. "My experience with Mama in the classroom is overwhelmingly positive,” Decker explained. “She makes the study of Russian an interesting, culturally engaging and revealing endeavor.”Decker continued that as Sysevich’s students move up to higher levels, they are challenged to push themselves, but also learn in a relatively stress-free environment.“She has high standards for work and expects much of her students, but also allows for a relaxed and cozy environment in which to learn,” Decker said. “She is one of my favorite teachers at Exeter and my time in her class is among my best school memories."Sysevich’s unique situation does not only allow her to watch each student progress and grow, but also provides students an opportunity to bond and build long lasting friendships.“All the kids get to keep to each other because when they come in, that group of people, they never have another teacher or another group of students,” Sysevich said. “It is one Russian class that keeps advancing, so they create tight bonds like brothers and sisters. They may or may not like everything about together at first, but because they are together for so long, for your whole career here, its like a family.”Students taking Russian are not the only ones who enjoy the privilege of knowing Sysevich. Residents of Abbot Hall have also built close relationships with her, whenever she was on duty on Tuesday nights.“For twelve years I was the head of Abbot Hall. And that I would say was the best part of my life so far. I really loved it and I felt that I had a very important job and that I was making a difference in kids’ lives by overseeing their early lives and watching them grow up,” Sysevich said.She explained that although she’s no longer the dorm head, she still gets to keep her bonds with the Abbot Hall boys. “I am moved out of the dorm now, I did my term. I am still involved with the dorm, but in a different role,” Sysevich explained.Another aspect of life in Exeter Sysevich is involved with is Admissions. Although this year, with an unusually large number of students interested and enrolled in Russian, she had to take a break from her Admissions work. Sysevich reflected upon her experience in working in the Admissions and explained the importance of Admissions in her life.“I felt that Admissions was a very important job to me because you give an input, that plays a role in someone elses opportunity to come here,” Sysevich said. “And it is an honor for me, to bring excellent kids here, to bring interesting kids. Kids with lively minds, lots of curiosity and good hearts.”Sysevich’s colleagues reflected upon her dedication and passion for students. Modern Languages instructor Evelyn Christoph described her as an “outgoing and sensible educator with a heart of gold.” Christoph said that Sysevich’s humor and ability to tell fun stories make her classes interesting for students and keep students devoted in learning the language.“Her enthusiasm and sense of humor make her a great story-teller. Learning a language is really about telling stories, and Ms. Sysevich instinctively knows how to make that fun,” Christoph said.Modern Languages instructor Fermin Andreu Perez explained that all students admire Sysevich for her exciting classes. “It’s like that TV series ‘Everybody Loves Raymond,’ we could say at Exeter that ‘Everybody Loves Mama Inna,’” he said. “She always tries to find the positive side of things, or, at the very least, the funny aspects of things. She is somebody who has not lost that teenager playfulness while she is a very sharp observer and interpreter of human nature.”Overall, Sysevich is a member of the Academy’s community who is admired and valued by all students. She is an essential part of the Academy.Senior Thomas Clark has gained a lot from taking Russia with Sysevich during his time at Exeter. “In my first year of Russian, she mostly spoke in English, supplementing her grammar and vocabulary lessons with stories of her hometown of Kiev and the philosophical meaning behind Russian poems by Pushkin and Lermontov,” he explained.Sysevich is very fortunate to be here at Exeter. She originally came to the United States with her husband, her four year-old daughter and a suitcase with all her belongings. She occupied herself by cleaning homes, learning the language and going to school again, having been a Science instructor when she lived in Ukraine. Modern Languages instructor Evelyn Christoph finds Sysevich’s earlier life inspiring.“Those who know her story are impressed by the courage, hard work and determination she has shown in adapting to a new country and culture,” Christoph said. “One reason I enjoy having Ms. Sysevich as a colleague and friend is her positive outlook on life and work. She loves her job and is grateful for every day she spends in the classroom.”Many are very grateful for Sysevich’s presence at Exeter. “As much as Ms. Sysevich feels fortunate to be here, Exeter is equally fortunate to have ‘Mama,’” Christoph said. “She truly embodies the achievement of goodness with knowledge.”Clark agreed. “It was Mama, too, who introduced me to the NSLI-Y program run by the State Department that paid for me to spend six weeks on a homestay program in Kazan, Russia, one of the most formative experiences of my life,” he said.“As I progressed in the Russian language, we would start speaking exclusively in Russian,” Clark said. “And I found myself understanding that Mama was not just giving me a useful skill in life, she was giving me pieces of her childhood and an understanding of philosophy and literature that still influences the way I think.”