BRUNSWICK, Maine — As Evan Gershkovich returns home in an historic prisoner exchange involving 24 people and 7 countries, the mood on the campus of his alma mater, Bowdoin College, is jubilant.
“We’re feeling a collective sense of release and joy that he’s been released,” Henry Laurence, a professor of Government and Legal Studies who knew Gershkovich, said Thursday. “We’re like a family here.”
Laurence remembers Gershkovich through the future Wall Street Journal reporter’s work at the college paper, The Bowdoin Orient. Though Laurence never taught Evan directly, he said he's a person he wished he'd had in class.
“He was a well-respected figure,” Laurence said. “He was very friendly, he was outgoing, he was smart.”
Brock Clarke, a professor of English and creative writing, was fortunate enough to count Gershkovich among his students. Speaking with NEWS CENTER Maine prior to the reporter's release from prison, Brock remembered his former student as deeply intelligent but also patient and kind.
“[He was] always asking for advice, always really good at listening to what other people had to say, even if it was perfect nonsense,” Clark said July 19 in an interview after Gershkovich was wrongfully convicted of espionage by a Russian court.
As the Bowdoin community rejoiced Thursday, shaking hands, smiling, and wearing “Free Evan" caps, leaders of the state Gershkovich called home during his college years joined in the celebration of his and the other American prisoners' return.
In a statement, Sen. Angus King wrote, “I am ecstatic to hear the news that Americans, among them Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, have been released from Russia and are on their way home.”
Sen. Susan Collins added, “Evan, an American journalist, and Paul, an American Marine, stand as examples of strength and resilience in the face of Putin’s increasingly brutal regime.”
But as the nation marks the triumph of a complex and highly successful diplomatic operation that brought back three American citizens and one permanent resident, Professor Laurence is not quick to forget the hardships endured by Gershkovich and others.
“In the joy that we’re feeling, we have to remember that its been a really tough experience for him.”
Still, Laurence is eagerly anticipating the return of one of Bowdoin’s most beloved alumni back to campus.
“We can’t wait to get him back here.”