Meet Svitlana Kosolapova

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Svitlana Kosolapova a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Svitlana , you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?

My generosity comes from my father. He was an extraordinary example of a generous person who always helped others. Although he is no longer with us, his legacy continues to inspire me deeply.

My father worked as a firefighter and later in the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to saving and helping others, both in his professional work and in his personal life. His selflessness and generosity were boundless, and witnessing his actions shaped my own understanding of what it means to give.

I have inherited this gift of generosity from him, and I carry it forward with pride, always striving to honor his memory by following in his footsteps.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I worked for 7 years at the Ivan Franko National Theatre in Ukraine, and theatre and film are my greatest passions. Now I live in New York City, a city I absolutely love, and I’ve started my acting studio here called Brave Ukrainians. Since I can’t imagine my life without creativity, I teach acting to Ukrainians through this studio.

On February 9th, we will hold a musical and poetic evening dedicated to love, featuring Ukrainian poetry and music. My students from the Brave Ukrainians acting studio will perform at this event.

In addition, I am personally organizing a charity evening to honor the memory of all the fallen heroes of Ukraine in the war. This event will take place on February 23rd, marking the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I invite everyone to join us for both of these evenings. If you can, please come and support us. Both events will have English subtitles, making them accessible to everyone. And both events are charity.

It’s a great honor for me to create these evenings because they give me a breath of life. To be honest, I haven’t performed on stage in three years, and it’s been incredibly hard for me to live without acting. I feel like I’m slowly fading without it.

Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been able to realize myself as an actress here, and the only creative outlet I currently have is my Brave Ukrainians acting studio. These events and my students keep me going, and I pour my heart and soul into them.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

To be honest, I feel like I’m at the beginning of my journey myself because I’m building my life from scratch here. I’m creating a new life, and the one thing I constantly tell myself is: never give up, keep moving forward. Our dreams are our responsibility, our work, and we must give our best to make them happen.

So, follow your dreams, and remember that dreaming is essential. If you already have a dream, it’s not there by accident. You dream of it for a reason, and it means that you are capable of making it a reality.

Believe in your dream, believe in yourself, and trust in God, because He is always there to support and help you when you need it most.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

I consider myself a very lucky person because I have so many people supporting me, especially my family. Even though I live alone here in New York, and my closest loved ones are far away, I always feel their support. My mother is in the occupied territory of Crimea, and my sister and her family are in Poland, but we are constantly in touch. I hope that we will see each other soon, that I’ll have the chance to travel, and we’ll meet somewhere in Europe.

I also want to thank my sister who lives in North Carolina. It’s such a blessing that we can see each other here in the U.S. We meet up periodically. She is my biggest support here, my closest person in America, and she helps me endlessly. Without her, I wouldn’t even be here in the U.S., and I am so deeply grateful to her.

I’m also incredibly grateful for my friends, of whom I have many, my students from my acting studio, and all the kind-hearted people who care about me. They help me in so many ways, and I am endlessly thankful. I will always express my gratitude to every single person who has ever extended a helping hand to me.

For me, a meaningful inspiration wasn’t so much a book as the film Pay It Forward. It has become my life’s motto. I believe that if you help someone, that person will help another, and through this chain of kindness, we can create so much more good in the world. If you haven’t seen the film yet, I highly recommend it.

I am also always open to new connections and collaborations. I would love to interact with creative, innovative people. You can always find me on my social media, and I’d be delighted to hear from you. ( IG – svitlanakos_ / braveukrainians_ )

Thank you so much for showing interest in me. Special thanks to my friend Evgeniy, who recommended me for this interview, and my deepest gratitude to everyone who will read this. I wish you all happiness and the confidence to believe in yourself. Never give up!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Svitlanakos_
• Facebook: Svitlana Kosolapova