| “They Were So Generous” Colleagues helped make dream of adoption a reality
Photo by Hilary Schwab |
There was something in the watchful eyes of the girl at the Russian orphanage that made Korin Munsterman feel they were meant to be a family. She hadn’t planned to become a parent. But two years later, with a lot of help from friends at the Washington College of Law, Munsterman is sharing her life with a 13-year-old who loves dogs and the color pink. As her daughter learns English and adjusts to American life, Munsterman is learning Russian and what it means to be a mother. Munsterman is the director of WCL’s technology office. She came to the law school two years ago from Harvard Law School, where she held a similar job, in large part because there appeared to be more support for adoptive families of Russian children in the D.C. area. At that time, she had just returned from a volunteer trip to Russia, where she had spent time in the orphanage in Yaroslavl, north of Moscow (and the same town where AU students recently performed at a theatre festival). She was prepared for the challenge of becoming an adoptive mother. What she didn’t expect were the obstacles that arose when adopting from a country with a different language, a different set of laws, and technical challenges such as fax machines that were often turned off. That’s where WCL colleagues came in. She soon learned she had a willing translator in assistant law librarian Sima Mirkin, originally from Belarus. When she realized she needed expertise in Russian law—and, ideally, a lawyer to reach officials during Russian business hours—she sent an e-mail to a listserv of the International Legal Studies Program, which offers an LLM, or master of laws, to practicing attorneys from overseas. Moscow lawyer David Kukhalashvili ’03 was quick to offer his help. When she went to Russia, Russell Confroy of WCL’s technology office stayed in her home to “dog sit”—and, just as importantly, found and faxed any documents that were unexpectedly needed. And when she brought her daughter home, she found that her colleagues had planned a “babe shower” with gifts that included a pink soccer ball and, thanks to assistant director Greta Dawson, all the school supplies for seventh grade. Even now, when she thinks about it, Munsterman’s eyes fill with tears. “They were really generous,” she says. Her daughter is speedily learning English and earning As and Bs at her Bethesda school. At home, though, she likes to speak Russian—and that’s fine with Munsterman, who studied the language to prepare for the adoption. “We’ll be in the Giant, and I’ll ask her something in English, and she’ll answer in Russian. People really look at us,” she laughs. “She’s been such a good sport.” Now the one-time English major with a master’s in library science has set herself another goal: earning a law degree. Juggling work, law school, and parenting is a challenge. But Munsterman looks at it through the eyes of a mother. “I think,” she says, “it sets a good example.” —SA |
