From Russia with Love — Vanya’s Story

The Homeschool Loftcast

This week on the Homeschool Loftcast we sit down with Vanya Koepke to hear about his experience of being homeschooled and the miraculous ways that God can be seen at work in his life. After living through several devastating traumas as a young child in Russia, and multiple attempts at adoption with foreign families, Vanya was finally adopted by a loving American family. Vanya is a 2011 homeschool graduate and 2015 graduate of the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, where he earned the Chancellor's Leadership Medallion, an exceptional achievement that has been awarded to only 3 percent of their 30,000 graduates. Vanya currently works as a Carrier Support Manager at Schneider National and has been active there for the past five years. In our conversation with Vanya, we hear about his harrowing early years and the incredible confluence of circumstances that led him to be adopted by a loving foreign family. Listening in you’ll hear how Vanya’s family decided to pursue homeschooling and what it was like teaching eight children! We discuss some of the reservations parents have about homeschooling, like concerns about socialization. We address why these fears are unfounded and might even be more likely to occur if you send your child away to school. Later, Vanya reflects on how homeschooling allowed him to nurture his interests and why it’s a valuable opportunity to invest in your children. We also discuss what it was like for Vanya to learn English after the age of ten and how his mother supported his journey to fluency. Join us for an inspiring conversation on faith, homeschooling, and much more!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Get to know today’s guest Vanya Koepke.
• The story of Vanya’s early years in Russia and how he was sent to an orphanage.
• How Vanya came to be adopted by a loving American family.
• The logistics of adoption in Russia if you’re a foreigner.
• How Vanya’s adoptive family decided to homeschool their children.
• The impressive undertaking of homeschooling eight children.
• Vanya’s experience of being homeschooled.
• How homeschooling prepared Vanya for college by teaching him self-discipline and how to structure his own time.
• How homeschooling gave Vanya the foundation to be strong in his faith, values, and work ethic.
• Why many of the arguments against homeschooling are unfounded.
• Why homeschooling gives your children plenty of opportunities for socialization.
• Vanya shares how he became interested in governance and his political aspirations.
• Some of Vanya’s experiences in politics and governance.
• What Vanya learned from his parents about being called to serve.
• The challenge Vanya faced learning English between the ages of ten and twelve.
• Homeschooling is not separated from life.
• How homeschooling allows your children to follow their interests.
• Homeschooling is an opportunity to invest in your children.

Highlights:

“Overall, it gave me that foundation of not only good work ethic and organizing my own schedule, maybe getting up early and getting some subjects done.” — @VanyaKoepke [0:20:30]

“That homeschool foundation allowed me to be strong throughout liberal arts colleges and public environments to not only be strong in my faith, but in my values. And my work ethic.” — @VanyaKoepke [0:14:43]

“It was homeschooling, it was my mom investing into really good literature, into very good writing assignments, into proper writing, into being patient as a teacher. ” — @VanyaKoepke [0:38:39]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Vanya Koepke on Twitter

8 Great Smarts for Homeschoolers

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