Faces of KBSU: Olga Vilkovskaya on studying and creativity without limits

In the «Faces of KBSU» column, we continue to tell the stories of people we meet in classrooms, buildings, and around the university campus. Today, we present the story of Olga Vilkovskaya, a philology student who feels the world at her fingertips.

At 15, Olga’s world lost its familiar contours—due to congenital glaucoma, her vision deteriorated sharply, leaving only light sensitivity and the ability to distinguish colors.

She was forced to transfer to a specialized boarding school in Kislovodsk. In high school, she mastered Braille, learning a new form of writing and reading, and began to navigate with the help of a cane.

The diagnosis changed Vilkovskaya’s educational path, but not her developmental direction. Her teachers advised the gifted student to apply to university. According to Olga, the negotiation phase was difficult:

«My mother was afraid to let me go to another city until the very end because I hadn’t lived alone before applying, and that really scared her. In the end, I convinced her, and I truly believe that studying at the university and living on my own have only been beneficial.»

KBSU

Olga views the university as a place of strength, and studies as both her main interest and hobby. An excellent student, she devotes every day to her studies. After three years of successful study in the history department, she switched to philology, studying literature and French.

The commute from the dorm to the academic building takes her 10 minutes.

Vilkovskaya knows the route thoroughly and gets to her classes on her own, unless lectures and seminars are moved to a new classroom.

«Without Braille signs, it’s difficult to navigate a large university on your own,» Olga says. Difficulties also arise when searching for scientific literature. Special editions for the visually impaired are published, but they are insufficient. I often use audiobooks or screen reader programs that allow me to recognize text on a computer.

Braille notes, audiobooks, tests and exams, either oral or accompanied by staff from the Inclusive Education Department—this is a brief overview of the academic environment for a student with visual impairments. During exam sessions, assistants help with testing: they type the text, mark selected answers, and scan books using software for blind and visually impaired users.

«KBSU is my favorite place in Nalchik,» Olga admits. «Even during exam sessions, on days when there were no exams, I would periodically just walk the hallways because there is a special atmosphere there.»

Poetry

Olga wrote her first poem at age 12, mentally setting herself this task. This same impulse drives her today, as she writes about her first strong feelings, recurring routines, her idols, and the changes she experiences in herself and her relationships with loved ones. Vilkovskaya poured all the nuances of her life as a twenty-something into the pages of her collection «I Can’t Not Write Poetry,» which was published in 2024. Olga recalls the presentation with a smile:

«I was so happy that I even felt a sense of disbelief. It happens when something really good happens, and you think, ‘Am I really awake right now?’ It simply can’t be.»

«Not writing was my greatest fear in life,» Olga admitted in the foreword. Constant practice saved her from this fear: she creates during seminars and breaks, transforming everyday dialogues into lines. Recently, her search for images and rhymes has also begun in French.

«Our world always becomes what we, humans, can see it as…»

The lyrical world of the KBSU student sometimes dusts with blue, sometimes flickers with rainy silver, sometimes paints with a bright ray. Olga’s favorite author is Victor Hugo. She can quote his play «Marion Delorme» from anywhere, but she strives to maintain her originality in her work:

«I think every person is unique. After all, people should be different, not strive to be like each other.»
«I’m glad I found my path,» wrote 16-year-old Olga in one of her early poems. Ten years later, she is even more confident in choosing her own path. Vilkovskaya plans to study all the way to graduate school and teach at her alma mater, as well as expand the boundaries of her creative space.