Beginning in 1987 under the guidance of Upper School history teacher Dave Harley, a delegation of McDonogh students engaged in a yearly exchange program with School 119 in Odesa, Ukraine. Given the broader context of the fall of the Soviet Union and the Cold War, McDonogh students found the exchange program an enlightening opportunity to learn about Ukrainian culture and erase stereotypes they held about their Soviet counterparts. McDonogh students had the opportunity to visit Moscow, Kiev, and Leningrad on the inaugural trip in 1987, but they also had the chance to experience daily life by staying with Ukrainian families and going to a Ukrainian school. Later that year and in subsequent years (until the program dissolved in 2008), students from School 119 came to attend McDonogh and stayed with McDonogh families for a few weeks. This platter was given as a gift from School 119 to Headmaster Bo Dixon, commemorating the relationship between the two schools.
Decorative Plate, Odessa Exchange Program – c.1987
